Evening star., 1928-05-11
OCEAN RADIO HELD
IMPORTANT FACTOR
Commission Indicates Inten-
tion of Examining Cross
Sea Services.

TranSoceanic radio services, already
rivaling the cables, apparently are 60
ing TO get first consideration from the
Federal Radio Commission in the dis
position OF short waves after the needs
for national defense. the civil airways
and emergency communications are
met This was indicated by the COM
missions order in calling together all
applicants for public tranSoceanic sta
tionS at a public hearing in Washing
ton Monday morning.
Competition from foreign countries in
the use of the short waves has induced
the commission to act on the matter
before it acts on the broadcaSting prob
lem. The commission has been goaded
into activity on this score by repeated
assertions of private radio interests in
this country, especially the newspaper
group, that other countries will pre-
enlpt the tranSoceanic short waves un-
less the licensing authority of this
country gets busy. A recent develop
nlent that has disturbed American COM
munications groups was the cabie-radio
merger in Great Britain.
The applicants for transoceanic
short waves are being called to the
hearing to present their respective
cases for the assignments they ask
They are the American Telephone g.
Telegraph Co.. the Radio Corporation
Of America, the Mackay Radio g. Tele-
graph Co, the American Publishers
Committee. the Robert Dollar Co. the
Tropical Radio Telegraph Co., the S. P.
Radio Co. of New York, and the Pacific
Communications Syndicate.
The A. T. & T. Co. seeks to establish
more firmly its rights to the channels
on which it is operating the transat-
lantic radio telephone, which now links
most of the countries of Continental
Europe. as well as the British Isles. with
the United States. The r. c. A. al
ready has a score or more radio cir
cults in operation across the Atlantic
and Pacific and to South America. II
also has an application in for channels
by which to connect "a cities of the
United States with a network of 65
short-wave stations for the purpose OF
establishing domestic radio-telegraph
system.
The Mackay company, recently merged
with the /. T. & T., wants to co-oroi-
nate its wire and cable communications
with radio. as Charles Evans Hughes,
1r.. its counsel, told the commission sew
wave channels, "a for Pacific communi-
cations and for point-to-point COM
municating along the Pacific Coast.
and it has announced its intention of
developing transatlantic radio circuits
of its own. This would place it In di-
rect competition with the r. C. A. 1t
proposes also to compete with the pro-
jected domestic system of the r. c. A..
for the Mackay interests applied for 46
domestic channels to link up American
cities, supplemental TO the Postal Tele-
graph system. even before the R c. A.
did.
The press group comprises press as
sociations and newspapers handling a
large volume of foreign news matter.
1t has asked for three exclusive wave
bands IN which to carry its own word
traffic, saying the press already is oper-
sting $4,000 miles of radio circuits and
is fully competent 10 handle Its own
traffic from abroad
The others are chiefly steamship in
Interests seeking 10 link up their port
radio stations and TO obtain more privi-
leges for ghip-to-shore communication.