ABSTRACT
The invention of wire-less communication through the use of the ‘radio’ portion of the electromagnetic spectrum came late in the nineteenth century. In its various manifestations radio has transformed society through general broadcasting services, the telecommunication of messages between individual receivers, and through other forms of data transfer. Wire or cable – particularly now, optical cabling – remain major telecommunication carriers, but the advantage of the new technology was and is that it avoids the problems of the cable. However it had its own problems. Many developed their own systems, and the scene was set for much dispute both legal and practical.
