Minister's Speech at RA Commemorates 100 Years of Radio

Introduction:

A reception was held on 12th December 2001 at the Radiocommunications Agency's headquarters to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first transatlantic radio signal. The reception was hosted by Douglas Alexander, Minister for E-commerce and Competitiveness, who welcomed over 80 guests from industry and the radio user community. The text of his speech appears below.

100 YEARS OF RADIO SPEECH, 12 DECEMBER 2001, AT RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS AGENCY, WYNDHAM HOUSE

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm delighted to be here with you today to celebrate 100 years of radio, and I'm pleased to see so many of you from the radio world.

Barry Maxwell of the RA presenting a plaque marking the donation of radio equipment to Carolyn Rule of the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club

We're here to celebrate one of the great scientific and technical events of the last century - a breakthrough that had implications for one of the most basic human activities - how we communicate with each other. The UK played a critical role in this moment of history - it was from Poldhu in Cornwall that Dr Ambrose Fleming sent the first long-distance radio signal across the Atlantic. It was heard by Guglielmo Marconi at Signal Hill near St Johns, in Newfoundland. The signal - the morse letter S - three dots repeated over and over - was received in St Johns by a flying aerial wire suspended 400 feet up in the air by a kite. Marconi picked up the signal through his telephone earpiece and had it confirmed by his assistant. It must have been tremendously exciting - it created a surge of public interest and the newspapers of the day published reports, some sceptical, believing the effects were due to atmospherics. But Marconi was right, as it quickly became apparent.

This breakthrough didn't just happen out of the blue - knowledge about radio had been developing since 1887, when Heinrich Hertz demonstrated the existence of radio waves.

The first international radio communication had happened in 1899, but the real breakthrough was Marconi's transatlantic signal in 1901, because this proved that radio waves followed the curvature of the earth, and didn't just head off to space in a straight line.

The successful experiment in 1901 was followed by rapid development in radio applications. We think that our generation is seeing technological change at an unprecedented pace - but progress was no less exciting in the early years of the 20th century.

Radio went on quickly to prove its worth in dramatic ways. Ship - to - shore radio led to the arrest of the notorious murderer Dr Crippen in 1910 while attempting to flee to Canada.

Entertainment wasn't far behind. The first advertised radio broadcast took place in 1920 - with a performance by Dame Nellie Melba. The forerunner of the World Service, the British Empire Service - started broadcasting in 1932.

We've come a long way since the 12th December 1901, but one constant is the tremendous power of innovation. In the radiocommunications area innovation has led to such developments as geostationery satellites for long-distance communications, live pictures broadcast from the moon, revolutionary medical techniques and cellular radio technology.

As a result radio touches nearly all parts of our lives. Not just our business lives, but our leisure time and our family life too. From hailing a taxi to being rescued by an air ambulance, from the mobile phone to opening the garage door, and from motor racing to weekend sailing, wireless technology is now an invisible but indispensable tool in our lives.

All this activity is bringing huge economic benefit to UK industry. A recent study on the economic impact of radio showed that the value of the radio industry is some £20 billion per annum, with broadcasting and public mobile radio together accounting for around three quarters of these benefits.

So, we are not only looking back, but also looking forward. Today we are entering the second century of radio.

Convergence is a central reason for our decision to form a new Office of Communications, or OFCOM. The aim is to create a simpler, more flexible framework, which will be best fitted to match the accelerating pace of change in the communications sector. The existing regulators have been working closely together to lay the groundwork for OFCOM and the intention is to have it up and running by the end of 2003.

But returning to our main theme for today. We are here in Docklands to celebrate 100 years of radio, in the midst of one of the most dynamic areas of development in the country, as you can see …….

The new Marconi Centre at Poldhu and (inset) radio equipment donated by the RA

But this is not the only celebration happening today. As you've been hearing, a message will be sent this afternoon by the Queen's representative to the Governor-General of Canada, replicating the path of the original signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to St John's. In keeping with the character of the original transmission, it will be sent using amateur radio, using equipment which has been donated to the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club by the Radiocommunications Agency, whose local staff have also assisted with technical issues. I would like to pay tribute to our amateur radio societies around the country who keep alive the pioneering spirit of those who first proved the power of long-distance communication by radio, and to all those who have helped to make this afternoon's events a reality.

That in 1901 Marconi and others working in Britain and America were committed to proving that radio waves could be used to communicate. The message today is that we are equally committed to innovation and to pushing forward the boundaries of communication.

Through working together, and sustaining a climate for innovation, we can ensure that radio is as successful in its second century as it has been in its first.