CO129-487 - Others & Individuals - 1924 — Page 298

MINUTES.

MINUTES NOT TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE.

WW21402/24

Your rafarande kuns

110369/24

P.O. reference t

All communications should be

addressed to-

.The Secretary,

General Post Office."

GENERAL POST OFFICE,

C.O.

35389

26 UL 24

LONDON, E.C. I. 238 25 July..

1924.

Sir,

With reference to your letter of the 2nd July, concerning negotiations in regard to a proposed Wireless Broadcasting

Service at Hong Kong, I am directed by the Postmaster General

to offer, for the consideration of the Secretary of State for

the Colonies, the following observations in regard to Despatch

No. 138 of the 1st April last from the Governor of Hong Kong.

With regard to the suggestion of Reuter's correspondent

at Hong Kong that any broadcasting service established there

should be based on the main feature of the original Australian

broadcasting scheme, viz:- the restriction of licensed

receiving apparatus to sets of officially approved design

capable of receiving one wavelength only, I am to say that

according to a recent notification in the Press (of which a

copy is enclosed) the Australian Government has now abandoned

++

the sealed set" and adopted the principle of the "open set".

In Germany, where a system of "sealed sets", somewhat similar to

that originally adopted in Australis, was introduced, much

evasion is known to exist.

Experience shews that any such restriction in this country

would give rise to grave dissatisfaction on the part of the

public and to wholesale evasion of the regulations (e.g. by the

use of homemade sets). The policy here has been directed towards rendering broadcast receiving licences as free from

restrictions as possible, and this policy has been justified by the very large increase in the number of licences issued

since the 1st October 1925 when as described in the press

Under Secretary of State,

communiqué

COLONIAL OFFICE.