 Wasted opportunities? The Great Northern Telegraph Company and the wireless challengeKurt Jacobsen Business History, 2010, vol. 52, issue 2, 231-250 Abstract: When the Great Northern Telegraph Company in 1913 bought the exclusive rights to exploit the Valdemar Poulsen Arc Transmitter it was not because the company wanted to take advantage of wireless telegraphy. Instead the company decided not to develop or implement the arc transmitter - a decision that has been described as a 'wasted opportunity'. This article, however, explores the behaviour of Great Northern and argues that there was little else the company could have done because of the structure of international telegraphy. Great Northern reacted as all other cable companies, and in this context the case of the Danish telegraph company is not just about the behaviour of one single firm. Rather, the case reveals important aspects of the business structures of international cable telegraphy and helps us to understand how one of the world's most powerful industries was brought to its knees by a new technology. Keywords: telecommunications; technology; telegraphy; international politics; regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:bushst:v:52:y:2010:i:2:p:231-250 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/00076791003611871 Access Statistics for this article Business History is currently edited by Professor John Wilson and Professor Steven Toms More articles in Business History from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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