GIRDING THE WORLD WITH WIRELESS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 34, 5 February 1912, Page 2

GIRDING THE WORLD WITH WIRELESS.

Grout Britain is to be the only nation absolutely independent of cable communication with any part of the globe; this result will bo attained (say the London papers) by a chain of world-encircling wireless .stations, for which negotiations ha'vc just been concluded between the British Post-master-General and the Marconi Co. To provide against the cutting of cables in war time, or the destruction of stations by bombardment, it is intended that the installation of each station shall be .of sufficient power to send messages 3000 miles and beyond one or more intermediate stations. The ; reports are summarised critically by the London Electrical Review (November 3rd) as follows: — “We are also told that £1)500,000 is to bo the cost of i this chain, by which important State and commercial mcrcts are to pass at all times out fear of interruption. The 'Post Office is to take control and provide subsidies of £IO,OOO a year for each of the twenty-five stations proposed to be erected, or an annual payment of £250,000. This will be one-sixth of the capital cost of the chain! Is it to be purchased on the instalment plan? The charge per word, but only over a given distance, is to bo Id, and a revenue of no less than £OOO,OOO a year is anticipated. As the annual outlay is estimated at £200,000, ono.cannot help asking why : s the huge subsidy required when such profits are in sight? We are also , told that the estimated traffic is to reach 15,000 words per diem per sta- : bion, or a total of 136,700,000 words for the twenty 7 five stations, which, including service words (say one-third more), will equal 80,000,000 words a .year. Truly there will be a Babel >f confusion in the air, which makes me wonder what will become of other installations, which arc jammed badly enough at present. “To add to what may be termed sky-talking, an American contemporary states that the high power stations at Cape :Cod arid Wellfleet eject press words into space continuously ' : pnd repeatedly without .cessation, so that whosoever cares to pick them up may do so, and be enabled, by piecing various pages together, to have an intelligible record. This wo can understand, .although it is somewhat in f the nature of a puzzle as to how the | : cost is met, or who pays for this ' work. But the transmission of some i. ISO million words a day to fixed desj 1; filiations in the face of physical and \ atmospheric difficulties, which prevail f for hours daily at some places, with ■ the risk of interception by enemies, I ships, and other stations, at a cost I which would complete the chain of em- [ piro, cables does not, if the particuS biirs as published 1 are correct, appeal itp us as being the sound way: to •j meet the urgent necessityof a sec- • rot and reliable means of communication under British control.”