IN THE EARLY years of the 20th century, telegraph cables had the monopoly on long distance communications. However, the seeds of competition began to emerge in 1907 when the Italian Marchese Guglielmo Marconi established a wireless telegraph service between Clifden in Ireland and Glace Bay in Canada. This was followed by other international services, including voice services to Europe, the USA and Australia. The messages were carried on Long Wave, with large expensive aerials and high-power transmitters. At first, radio was not a threat to cable technology due to its expense and unreliability but with the advent of Short Wave transmission which provided a cheaper and more reliable service, radio became a real commercial competitor.
By 1927, Post Office Beam Wireless services had been established with Canada, Australia, South Africa and India. From this time, cable companies began to notice a significant loss of revenue. In 1928 the Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference was convened to examine the situation and it was decided to combine radio and cable services in one company, Imperial and International Communications.
In 1910 the British murderer Henry Hawley Crippen attempted to elude capture by escaping to the USA aboard the S.S. Montrose. The ship-board radio enabled police to warn the captain and he was arrested on board ship. He was the first criminal captured with the help of radio.
