The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-04-08
FRANCE Is MAKING
NOTABLE STRIDES IN
RADIO IMPROVEMENT
Has the Largest and Most
Powerful Equipment in
Europe


States has been carrying on an in
tensive campaign in wireless broad
I casting and the use of radio by anna
tours, France has been hard at work
developing it's commercial wireless
business through private enterprise.
Today France has the largest most
efficient and most powerful wireless
equipment in Europe. Unlike Eng
land, France took the opportunity
during the war of developing this
new means of communication.
Today the French government has
four high-powered stations. Most
Americans are familiar with the
great Eiffel Tower which rears it's
steel framework into the Paris sky
line like a giant finger and snatches
radio messages from around the
world. 1t is in continuous contact
with Arlington, near Washington, and
all the other great American stations.
Next in Importance comes the sta
ton at Nantes, which is allocated to
the French navy; the station at
Lyons, which was erected during the
war and is used by the post office
for communications to America, At
RIGA, Europe and the French colonies;
and the great Lafayette station, near
Bordeaux, which was built by the
American navy and later acquired
by the French government. The La
fayette tower sends daily communi-
cations to Madagascar, Martinique
and Saigon. The government service
consists of news, propaganda and Of
fetal communications.
The chief wireless installation in
France is now that of Ste. Assise and
consists of two stations, one for Euro
pean traffic and one for world COM
munication. 1t was necessary to build
this powerful station because of the
inadequacy Of the submarine cables
and telegraph lines. and the lack of
capacity of the other wireless sta
lions for continuing long distance
communication. The Ste. Assise sta
ton undertakes rapid and intensive
service to North and South America
and with the Far East and Indo-
China.
To show the progress radio is MAX
ing in this country it may be men
words transmitted from France to
the United States increased from
353,734 in November, 1922, to 1885,
$40 in January, 1923. The number
of daily messages sent by radio in
January was more than the COM
bined number sent out from France
by the two chief submarine cable
companies.
Commercial radio is operated by
the Company Radio-France, sub
sidiary of the French Wireless COM
pany. The parent company, the
"Compagnfe Generate de Telegraph
Sans Fill" has a concession for 30
years from the French government
granted in October, 1920. but eating
IN n
interests and state requirements in
time OF war are safeguarded. The
parent company is in alliance with
the Marconi company, the American
Radio corporation, the German Tele-
funken company, and the Missni BUS
san Kaisha of Japan. 1t is associat-
ed with companies in Belgium, Italy,
Poland Rumania, Switzerland,
SYRIA South America and other coun-
tries.
France has long distance two-Way
stations at Buenos Aires, Beirut and
Saigon, and a long-distance trans
hitting station is being built in
Madagascar 1t will thus be seen
that the French radio system COW
ers the world, and a large radio
manufacturing industry has been
huilt nm in France by private en-
terprise which has free scope for
development abroad. The state does
NOT aspire to make profit on it's
radio service. which is, indeed, heaV-
lily Subsidized
The giant Ste. Assise station, which
is 20 miles from Paris. is designed
to transmit 200 words minute. For
transmission and reception the sta
ton is capable of a total of 100000
words a day by the best submarine
cable to America. The rates charged
are approximately a third less than
tho ca hle tolls