HIGH-POWER WIRELESS

Southland Times, Issue 19172, 16 February 1924, Page 7

HIGH-POWER WIRELESS

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. BROADCASTING COMPETITION. (Special to the Times). WELLINGTON, February 14. The project for the establishment of a high power wireless station in New Zealand, as advocated by Mr Massey and the alternative of having the New Zealand business handled by the Australian high power station, as well as matters connected with broadcasting, were discussed in an interview to-day with Mr E. T. Fisk, managing director of Amalgamated Wireless (Australia) Limited. In response to a request for an expression of opinion in regard to Mr Massey’s proposal for the erection of a high power station in New Zealand capable of receiving and transmitting messages to Great Britain and other parts jjf the Empire, Mr Fisk heartily endorsed the project. NEED FOR IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS. “I would like,” said Mr Fisk, “to see New Zealand get the very best service possible to improve the means of communication and social intercourse with other parts of the world. That is the independent side of the business. On the practical side, I hold the opinion that, though Mr Massey is very properly keen on linking up New Zealand with Great Britain, the question is what is the best way to go about it? It is all a matter of finance. You have examine carefully the figures of cost, the estimate of the volume of traffic available, the lowest possible rates, and the kind of station you will be able to operate. If it is found that the traffic will be sufficient to secure a reduction of rates with an efficient service to Great Britain, that is what I would recommend. FEEDING STATION SUGGESTED. If, on the other hand, continued Mr Fisk, it "’is found that the cost of a direct service would be such that it could be operated only at a loss or that the rates equid not be reduced, then I would advise to do the same as you have done witn the cables. That is, to feed the business to the Australian station. You would not necessarily depend on Australia. To all intents and purposes the messages you sent from here would operate the Australian high power station which in turn would automatically send your messages direct to London. Consequently you would have all the advantages of direct communication and you would receive your own messages direct from London. That would give all the advantages accruing from a high power station in New Zealand, while involving only a fraction of the cost. The lower your capital and oper- | ating costs, the greater will be the benefit to the community.” Mr Fisk said he would not be prepared to give an estimate of the possible volume of traffic from New Zealand without a careful examination of the figures. He added, however, that he was in full agreement with Mr Massey’s proposal for linking up with London and the rest of the Empire. Asked to reconcile his statement in a contemporary that “at present New Zealand did not possess a station capable of carrying on a commercial wireless service with Australia or any countries outside New Zealand” with the fact that Awanui station was in regular communication with Apia, a distance of 1500 miles and that Awarua was a duplicate of. Awanui, Mr Fisk said he had been misreported. “I am very anxious,” he said, “not to effect such comparisons, or to interfere in local politics.” CABLE COMPETITION. In reply to a question whether he considered that a reduction of the present cable charges would not afford undue competition with the wireless services, Mr Fisk said he believed that there would be a reduction .by both the Pacific and Eastern companies in the cable rates, but when the reduction was brought about there would be such an increase in business that there would be sufficient traffic for the cable and wireless services. OPPORTUNITY FOR BROADCASTING. The proposal made recently in a deputation to the Postmaster-General that there should be onp broadcasting concern for the Dominion, was submitted for an opinion by Mr Fisk. He replied that if practicable some arrangement should be made to allow all those who wished to do so to establish and carry on broadcasting services. He had, however, not closely studied the matter from a New Zealand standpoint, but he thought it very desirable that broadcasting should be put on a basis that permitted of open competition, allowing new enterprises to come along from year to year. The competition with the Amalgamated Companies of the new broadcasting stations established at Sydney and Melbourne was not being felt by Mr Fisk’s corporation, he said in answer to another question. It was confined to entertainments. His factory was now supplying broadcasting stations of five kilowatt to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. A MATTER OF FINANCE. “There is a great opportunity in New Zealand,” said Mr Fisk, “for the establishment I of a high-grade broadcasting service, but it will cost a considerable sum of money to do it. In England, with eight stations of smaller power than would be required here, the cost was estimated at £20,000 each and the revenue required at £250,000 per annum. With 300,000 homes in New Zealand there is room for broadcasting companies in competition with each other to give the best possible services in market and weather reports, the approach of storms in the snow country, which are subject to losses in sheep as occurred last winter in the South Island, and the making of home life in the backblocks highly attractive by bringing to New Zealand and broadcasting from the cities some of the world’s finest talent.” At all the leading theatres in Sydney now, said Mr Fisk, the whole of the performances such as “The Merry Widow,” “The Southern Maid” and “Kissing Time” were broadcasted.