The British Army soon develops a wireless detection finder, and uses it to track German ships. Throughout the 1920s, major countries including the U.S., France and Great Britain develop networks of high-powered radio stations. The American Telegraph and Telephone Company becomes much more active, as does Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company of Canada. At this stage in its development, the true potential of radio telephony the transmission of words and music is slowly becoming clear, and an entire industry evolves based on the recreational value of radio. Wireless technology factories, abandoned after the war, are re-opened to begin mass production of radio receivers for the general population.
Radio sets become common on aircraft, ships and tanks.
Radio telephony is also adapted for use in crime detection by police forces in Britain and the States. XWA later changes its call name to CFCF, and still operates under that name today. The race for the first broadcast is a close one, and is won by Pittsburgh's KDKA, which transmits election results on Nov. 2, 1920. Radio boom A worldwide radio boom brings music, news and comedy into the homes of everyday people. In less than six months, over 250 new station licences are granted in the U.S., and in three months the number of receivers nationwide increases from 50,000 to 750,000.