The first service commenced operation between the UK and Canada in October 1926.
Here we see two Franklin Beam arrays at the receiving station near Bridgwater in Somerset, used for the Canadian and South African telegraphy services. The transmitting station was to the west of Bodmin which I’ll have more to say about later.
From that point on short wave radio became the backbone of long distance telecommunication.
This large spectrum now available (compared to that at low frequencies) combined with the new technology of voice broadcasting offered the possibility of intercontinental radio telephone as well as overseas broadcasting.
Marconi had taken the world by surprise with the development of short waves. However his competitors were fast learners and short wave equipment was soon being produced from a number of suppliers.