Chapter 626
Development of Wireless Broadcasting
Chapter 626 Development of Wireless Broadcasting
The coverage of the radio towers now exceeds 20 kilometers, which is great news for Spain.
Radio broadcasting technology will play a particularly important role in communication between the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
The narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar is only 14 kilometers wide, which happens to fall within the coverage area of today's radio towers.
This also means that by building a large wireless broadcasting tower in Spain and then using numerous relay towers, radio wave signals can be transmitted to Morocco, allowing people in Morocco to hear wireless broadcasting signals from Spain.
To take it even further, building small signal relay towers on ships, or even directly at sea, would allow radio wave signals to be transmitted to the Balearic and Canary Islands.
These two states have rather unique geographical locations. One is located about 100 kilometers east of the Iberian Peninsula, and the other is about 130 kilometers west of Morocco, making communication with mainland Spain not very convenient.
Because both states are archipelagos, their economic development and population growth are somewhat limited compared to continental states.
If wireless broadcasting technology can be used to strengthen the connection between mainland Spain and the two archipelagic states, it would be great news for the Spanish government.
Today's wireless broadcasting technology has entered the commercial stage. As long as a sufficient number of signal relay towers are built, the signal can be transmitted to every state in Spain.
Of course, doing so will also face another problem, namely the construction cost of signal relay towers.
Even if the construction cost of a single signal relay tower is not high, the cumulative construction cost will definitely be an astronomical figure.
Whether Spain can afford the cost of building a large number of signal relay towers is a question that Carlo is particularly interested in.
When Tesla heard Carlo's question, he smiled with considerable pride and replied, "Your Majesty, through our efforts, the construction cost of radio broadcasting towers and signal relay towers has been significantly reduced."
The cost of building a large wireless broadcasting tower is approximately 12 pesas, while the cost of building a signal relay base station can be kept below 5 pesas.
In plains areas, the coverage range of a large wireless broadcasting tower is about 20 kilometers, which shrinks to 15 kilometers in mountainous areas. The coverage range of a signal relay base station is about 15 kilometers, which shrinks to 10 kilometers in mountainous areas.
If we estimate based on a coverage range of 15 kilometers, we would need to build approximately 1500 signal relay base stations, with a total construction cost of approximately 7500 million pesetas.
Of course, most mountainous areas will not be able to achieve a 15-kilometer signal coverage range. But what is certain is that with a cost of only 100 million pesetas, we can deploy signal broadcasting towers and relay base stations throughout the country, allowing radio wave signals to cover the entire country in a short period of time.
This calculation doesn't refer to the area of the Iberian Peninsula, but rather the combined area of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
For the Spanish government, if it can exchange 100 million pesetas for a wireless broadcast signal that can cover the entire country in a short period of time, such a deal is quite worthwhile.
After all, the Spanish government is now flush with cash, and 100 million pesetas is indeed not a large expenditure. The benefits brought by a nationwide wireless broadcasting signal are far beyond what 100 million pesetas can measure.
Moreover, the actual expenditures certainly cannot be calculated in this way.
First, there are the costs of building signal base stations and labor. Second, not every inch of land in Spain needs to be covered by radio wave signals.
The idea of covering the entire country with radio signals is merely a figure of speech. After all, for Spain today, the actual area requiring radio signal coverage is less than a third of its territory.
Most of the remaining land is either sparsely populated mountainous areas or deserts with few animals, so it has no need for radio wave signals at all.
If we only consider the third of the country with a large population, the construction cost can be reduced by about half. It would only cost about fifty to sixty million pesetas to achieve "nationwide" radio wave signal coverage, which is definitely a profitable deal.
With that in mind, Carlo no longer hesitated. He looked at Tesla with a satisfied smile and instructed, "Now that wireless broadcasting technology is mature, don't hesitate, immediately begin the nationwide radio wave signal coverage work."
The production line for the signal base stations will begin assembly immediately, and I hope it will be operational within a month. Within a year, I aim to essentially complete radio wave signal coverage, ushering the public into the radio wave era.
The expenditure of just a few tens of millions of pesetas was something Carlo could easily decide with a single word. Tesla didn't hesitate at all in response to Carlo's order, immediately nodding to indicate that he understood.
"Also, inform all researchers in the lab that a celebratory banquet will be held this weekend. Let it be held at the palace; I'll have Butler Lauren prepare it."
"The coming year will be quite busy, so let's have a celebration before we dive into the hectic work," Carlo said with a smile, stopping Tesla who was about to leave.
Upon hearing Carlo's instructions, Tesla paused for a moment, then nodded with delight.
The weekend celebration was not just a celebratory banquet, but also an award presented by Carlo, as the behind-the-scenes funder of the Royal Academy of Sciences, to all the researchers on the project after its success.
Tesla valued not these awards, but rather Carlo's respect for the Royal Society and all researchers.
Carlo's emphasis on all researchers is unparalleled, which is why many scientists are willing to join the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences.
As Emperor of the Spanish Empire, Carlos enjoyed immense prestige and influence within Spain. He also enjoyed considerable renown throughout Europe.
Under such circumstances, Carlo's attention to and support for all researchers at the Royal Academy of Sciences naturally possessed an extraordinary appeal.
Moreover, in addition to Carlo's personal emphasis, the substantial financial reward is also very attractive.
It is no exaggeration to say that, apart from those exceptionally patriotic scientists, no one can resist such tactics of courting.
This passion fuels Spanish scientists' research efforts, and sometimes this passion even helps them achieve results more quickly.
On Sunday, Carlo hosted a small celebratory banquet for all the researchers involved in the wireless broadcasting project in a small banquet hall at the palace.
To show his respect for these scientists, Carlo specially instructed the palace steward, Lauren, to prepare this banquet, providing a very lavish dinner for the numerous researchers, with extremely high-end drinks.
Of course, the food and drinks were nothing compared to the rewards Carlo had prepared for these scientists.
Given the importance of the radio broadcasting project to Spain, Carlo's rewards for scientists were quite generous, totaling millions of pesetas.
It's important to understand that the entire wireless broadcasting project only had a few dozen researchers in total. Even though Tesla, as the project's overall leader, took a large share of the bonus, the remaining researchers would still receive a substantial amount.
Ultimately, after tallying the results, all ordinary researchers received a minimum of 5 pesetas and a maximum of over 15 pesetas.
As the project's head, Tesla received a bonus of over 150 million pesetas, while his two deputies each received a bonus of 50 pesetas.
None of the scientists complained about this distribution of the prize money.
After all, they were all involved in the improvement of wireless broadcasting technology. Everyone knows perfectly well who the biggest contributor to the improvement of wireless broadcasting technology is.
In terms of contributions, Tesla was undoubtedly the biggest contributor. His two deputies also made significant contributions to the improvement of wireless broadcasting technology, while most of the remaining researchers simply conducted repetitive and repetitive tests and did not make any outstanding contributions.
Moreover, Carlo's rewards to most people were quite substantial, roughly equivalent to the annual salary of most researchers over several years.
Such a reward is absolutely fair and just, and naturally no one else will have any complaints.
After the celebration banquet, Tesla's main task became setting up a production line for wireless broadcast base stations.
This task is not difficult, after all, Tesla and his team have built radio towers and signal relay base stations before. What they need to do now is to standardize the construction process and manufacture most of the components in advance.
According to Tesla's estimates, the production lines for wireless broadcast towers and signal relay base stations could be put into operation within half a month.
If only one-third of Spain's landmass is covered, approximately 500 signal relay base stations will be needed. Based on the current construction progress of the project team, these 500 signal relay base stations can be completed in about a year.
With more manpower, the timeframe could be shortened to about six months. If production and construction proceed simultaneously, all wireless broadcasting towers and signal relay base stations could be completed within roughly the one year stipulated by Carlo.
Of course, the popularization of wireless broadcasting technology cannot be achieved simply by building wireless broadcasting towers and signal relay base stations.
Having a channel for transmitting radio wave signals is one thing, but having a source of those signals, namely a wireless broadcasting company, is another.
Fortunately, this wasn't difficult for Carlo either. The initial promotion of wireless broadcasting technology could be entirely achieved using state capital.
Moreover, wireless broadcasting technology is an important means of information exchange, and it was essential that it be controlled by the government and the royal family in the early stages to ensure that the information released to the public was what the government and the royal family needed, rather than uncensored and illegal information.
Carlo plans to establish a Royal Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast news, talk shows, and important government announcements to the public daily via radio.
The Royal Broadcasting Corporation doesn't necessarily have to make a profit; it will continue to operate even if it loses money.
Once the public accepts broadcasting channels, the role of wireless broadcasting companies can be no less important than that of newspapers.
Even in terms of the timeliness and reach of information, radio broadcasting was more important than newspapers.
Newspapers need to go through a complete process of collecting information, printing newspapers, distributing them to various places, and then selling them in order for the public to see the news.
Wireless broadcasting eliminates the need for printing, distribution, and sales, allowing for timely dissemination of information to the public and saving significant time and manpower costs.
Because wireless broadcasting technology has been around for a long time, there are some regional wireless broadcasting stations in Spain.
Once the public accepts wireless broadcasting technology that can cover the entire country, we can consider incorporating these regional wireless broadcasting stations into the national wireless broadcasting network, thereby expanding the market for wireless broadcasting stations and enabling them to generate profits.
Of course, all of this is just a plan. The most important thing right now is to build the wireless broadcasting towers and signal base stations. Only after the broadcasting towers and signal base stations are completed will it be time for the broadcasting company to be established and put into operation.
In order to raise public awareness, Carlo decided to use newspapers to advertise and let people know about the progress Spain has made in radio broadcasting.
As Carlo had predicted, when major Spanish newspapers revealed that Spain had made great progress in radio broadcasting technology and expected to achieve full radio signal coverage throughout Spain in just one year, it immediately attracted widespread attention from the public.
In fact, many Spaniards have already been exposed to wireless broadcasting technology, and they are quite familiar with it.
Especially in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's two largest cities, there are already several radio stations of all sizes.
These radio stations also have their own audiences, and have even produced many well-known talk shows and current affairs news programs.
While it's called a language program, it's really just about telling stories to the audience, using engaging stories to attract them, and then making a profit.
These diverse stories, along with current affairs news and entertainment gossip, have collectively propelled the development of wireless broadcasting.
However, because the coverage of the previous radio towers was extremely limited, even though many radio stations produced excellent programs, the actual number of listeners was very limited.
A limited audience means a limited market, and a limited market means that most wireless radio stations cannot make a profit, or at least not make a lot of money.
If radio stations stop making big money, their investment in program production will naturally decrease. Lower production costs mean fewer viewers, resulting in less revenue.
If it weren't for the Madrid and Barcelona city governments working with local radio stations to broadcast political news and promote legal awareness, probably half of Spain's radio stations would be out of business by now.
Of course, this was only the predicament faced by Spanish radio stations in the past. If Spain truly achieves a major breakthrough in radio broadcasting technology, then the difficulties faced by radio stations will be resolved, and the major Spanish radio stations will have a very good chance of turning from a loss-making state to a profitable one, thus revitalizing themselves.
With the attention of these radio stations, and the genuine interest of many people in radio broadcasting, news of Spain's breakthrough in radio broadcasting technology quickly became a hot topic in Spain.
The public is also beginning to look forward to the development of Spanish radio stations. After all, as industry and the economy become more and more developed, people still hope that their entertainment life can become more exciting, and radio broadcasts are sometimes a very important form of entertainment.
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(End of this chapter)