Technology · Telephony

Transatlantic Radio Telephone Service Between London and New York to Open Friday

Britain’s postmaster general sets Jan. 7 for the start, though officials admit conversations will be only semi-secret for some months.

By the Monochrome Chronicles desk, from reports by Evening Star and New Britain Herald
Edited by Daniel Varrone · Archive edition, written October 30, 2026, 12:00 PM ET, about events of January 4, 1927

Photo: “Datacenter Server Racks” by Carl Lender from Sunrise, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; adapted from the original.

The British postmaster general announced on Tuesday that service on the transatlantic radio telephone system will open on Jan. 7 at 1:45 p.m. London time, which is 8:45 a.m. in New York, the Associated Press reported from London.

The Evening Star’s account quotes an official of the British Post Office who told the Daily Mail that absolute secrecy will not be attained for some months. Plans to foil eavesdroppers are complete, he said, and only await working out by experts, but for a time the service would be only semi-secret, and anyone willing to go to the trouble and expense of fixing the necessary apparatus could tap messages.

Sources

Evening Star (Washington), Jan. 4, 1927: opening date and the post office’s remarks on secrecy <https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1927-01-04/ed-1/?sp=2>
New Britain Herald, Jan. 4, 1927: the opening date and hour <https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014519/1927-01-04/ed-1/?sp=1>

This article was drafted with automated tools from the sources listed, checked by a review pass, and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com

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