Wireless Telegraphy Act is (with its variations) a stock

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. Th ...

used for legislation in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

relating to

wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

. The Wireless Telegraphy Acts are laws regulating radio communications in the

. Wireless telegraphy as a concept is defined in British law as "the sending of electro-magnetic energy over paths not provided by a material substance." The term

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

, although best known in relation to the

electric telegraph Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...

, relates to the sending of messages over long-distances.

Wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

is differentiated from electrical telegraphy in that the messages are transmitted via electromagnetic means (light or radio) rather than via a physical electrical cable connection. The current (2018) supervisor of the UK's

electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies (the spectrum) of electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and photon energies. The electromagnetic spectrum covers electromagnetic waves with frequencies ranging from ...

is the communications regulator,

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

List

Cape Colony (South Africa)

*The Electric Telegraphs Amendment Act 1902 (required wireless masts to be licensed)

Ireland

*The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904 and 1906 (pre-independence acts repealed in 1926) *The Wireless Telegraphy Act 192

(the principal Act) *The Wireless Telegraphy Act 195

(concerned with use of radios in vehicles) *The Broadcasting Authority Act 196

(established

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

and makes amendments to the 1926 Act in relation to television and interference) *The Broadcasting offences Act 196

(banned offshore pirate radio stations-none of which existed at the time) *The Wireless Telegraphy Act 197

(concerned mainly with TV receiver Television licensing in the Republic of Ireland, licensing) *The Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act 197

(amendments concerning Cable television in Ireland, cable TV) *The Broadcasting And Wireless Telegraphy Act 198

(concerned mainly with Irish pirate radio, unlicensed broadcasting) *The Broadcasting Act 199

(amendments concerning cable TV and unauthorised Pirate decryption, decoding or

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

of broadcast services) *The Broadcasting Act 200

United Kingdom

*The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904 (subsequently repealed) *The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1906 (subsequently repealed) *The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1924 (subsequently repealed) *Th
Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949
c. 54 (subsequently repealed) *The Marine etc. Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 c.41 (banned offshore pirate radio stations, subsequently repealed) *Th
Wireless Telegraphy Act 1967
c. 72 *The

Telecommunications Act 1984 The Telecommunications Act 1984 (c 12) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The rules for the industry are now contained in the Communications Act 2003. Provisions The provisions of the act included the followi ...

(made amendments to the 1949 Act) *The

Broadcasting Act 1990 The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, initiated in part due to a 1989 European Council Directive (89/552), also known as the Television Without Frontiers directive. The aim of the Act was to liberalise and deregulate the B ...

(made extensive amendments to the 1949 and 1967 Acts) *The

Broadcasting Act 1996 Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

*Th
Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998
c. 6 (introduced spectrum pricing) *The

Office of Communications Act 2002 The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

(created Ofcom) *The

Communications Act 2003 The Communications Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act, which came into force on 25 July 2003, superseded the Telecommunications Act 1984. The new act was the responsibility of Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. It ...

(provided for new activities relating to spectrum pricing) *The

Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (c 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This Act repealed the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 had as its purpose to "consolidate enactments about wireless telegra ...

(c 36)

List

Cape Colony (South Africa)

Ireland

United Kingdom

See also