The Network: The Battle For The Airwaves And The Birth Of The Communications Age
by Scott Woolley /
2016 / English / PDF
217 MB Download
This is the story of the airwaves, as told through the friendship
of David Sarnoff, the head of RCA, who was the greatest supporter
of his friend Edwin Armstrong, developer of the first amplifier,
the modern radio transmitter, and FM radio. In the mid-1930s,
however, when Armstrong suspected Sarnoff of orchestrating a cadre
of government officials to seize control of the FM airwaves, he
committed suicide. Many corrupt politicians and corporations saw in
Armstrong's inventions the opportunity to commodify our most
ubiquitous resource -- the air. This early alliance between high
tech and business set the precedent for countless legal and
industrial battles over broadband and licensing bandwidth, many of
which continue to influence policy and debate today.
This is the story of the airwaves, as told through the friendship
of David Sarnoff, the head of RCA, who was the greatest supporter
of his friend Edwin Armstrong, developer of the first amplifier,
the modern radio transmitter, and FM radio. In the mid-1930s,
however, when Armstrong suspected Sarnoff of orchestrating a cadre
of government officials to seize control of the FM airwaves, he
committed suicide. Many corrupt politicians and corporations saw in
Armstrong's inventions the opportunity to commodify our most
ubiquitous resource -- the air. This early alliance between high
tech and business set the precedent for countless legal and
industrial battles over broadband and licensing bandwidth, many of
which continue to influence policy and debate today.
