CO537-5142 — Page 200

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Dear Dudley,

COPY.

OVERSEAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT,

GENERAL POST OFFICE,

LONDON, E.C.1.

12th December, 1946.

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In your letter of the 5th of December, with which you enclosed a copy of a letter from Gallman to Sir Orme Sargent about the relaying of the United States short-wave broadcasts, you asked for our observations from the point of view of telecommunications policy and from that of technical practicability.

The American proposals are prima facie technically practicable, but we should prefer to discuss them with the B.B.C. before offering an opinion on the reliability and quality of service which could be provided by this means. Before matters are carried to this stage, however, I think the policy issue should be settled.

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oi In our view the scheme is contrary to a long-standing and fundamental

principle of United Kingdom telecommunications policy, namely that no civilian body other than the British Government or a duly licensed British concern should operate radio stations in British territory; and the objections to reversing this established policy are very strong. The Postmaster General is responsible for ensuring that all radio services carried on from United Kingdom territory conform both to our obligations under international agreements and to our own national laws, and His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom is similarly responsible as regards Colonies, Mandated territories, etc. These responsibilities would be embarrassing and difficult, if not impossible, to fulfil in the case of stations and services owned and operated by a foreign Government.

There would, I imagine, also be serious security considerations which the appropriate authorities would wish to raise.

The proposal has a communications aspect, of major importance from the imperial point of view. Although the present request relates only to broadcasting it must be realised that, having secured the principle in relation to broadcasting, the United States might well soon demand similar facilities for commercial and military point-to-point services. You will be aware, of course, that for some time the Americans have been giving much thought to the possibility of establishing a world-wide radiocommunication network based upon links suitably sited in the equatorial belt (in order to overcome adverse propagation conditions) and stations located in some of our tropical Colonies would be extrem ly useful for such a scheme.

The foregoing objections to relay facilities apply both to broadcasting services and tỏ point-to-point services; but in addition the provision of relay facilities for commercial point-to-point services would have very serious financial and other repercussions on our own international and Empire civil communications system. (The Service Departments would, of course, be in the best position

to speak in regard to military services).

If it is considered essential that facilities of some kind should be offered on United Kingdom territory for relaying United States broadcasts I suggest that consideration of the method to be adopted should be confined to their provision either by the Post Office, a licensed undertaking such as Cable and Wireless Ltd. or the B.B.C. (I assume that the Americans have it in mind to provide their own frequencies as we could not in any circumstances spare any of our own frequencies for the purpose).

The above conveys our views on the telecommunications policy and technical aspects, for which you ask; and I note that you are considering the political implications, including, doubtless, the possibility that the Post Office, the B.B.C. or Cable and Wireless Ltd. might find themselves actively

assisting

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