The former obtained an option to acquire the exclusive rights to the Telefunken wireless telegraphy system in Australasia, the latter acquired those rights and with public capital developed a firm which was successful in supplying wireless telegraphy equipment to shipping in Australasian waters and the establishment of Australia's first coastal radio stations.
The object of the firm was to acquire options and rights in regard to wireless telegraphy and telephony, to establish and maintain stations.
Their products were most successful but just as in Great Britain, patent disputes held back progress principally with Siemens.
The impasse was resolved, at the behest of William II, German Emperor, by founding a common enterprise, the Society for Wireless Telegraphy Ltd.
[10] In 1910, AWL established a medium power Telefunken system at the Australia Hotel as an experimental station and was later granted a commercial licence to exchange messages with coastal shipping at a rate of charge agreed with the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG).
The Australasian Wireless Co. had established a low power experimental station at the Australia Hotel, Castlereagh Street, Sydney.
Medium power equipment was transferred at this time from Underwood Street and a large antenna installed on the rooftop of the hotel, at its highest 80 ft. above the roof (170 ft. AGL).
On 5 December 1910, a journalist of the Sydney Sun conducted an "interview" with world champion sculler Dick Arnst, by means of the Australia Hotel station and the fitted-for-wireless RMS Ulimaroa.
[16] In another triumph, the Australia Hotel station played a major part in establishing that the training ship Mersey was fine when fears were held for her safety at sea.
[17] Due to delays in the establishment of the high power Pennant Hills coastal station, Australasian Wireless Co. (the contractors for the construction of the Pennant Hills station), sought and received a commercial licence to establish at their own cost a temporary facility at the Australia Hotel.
But now the company could advertise its formal approval to solicit communications with nearby merchant shipping, and to charge for the service.
Sandell was formerly a Sydney experimenter while Sawyer was, immediately prior to the expedition, was the chief operator at the Australia Hotel station.
P. Farmer quickly established direct communication with Macquarie Island, which stated that they had been hearing the Australia Hotel for some time.
Australasian Wireless Co. did not seem entirely unhappy with this system, as it permitted the commercial operations at the Australia Hotel to continue for a longer period than envisaged.
Finally, on 3 June 1912, the Department gave three months notice of cancellation of the commercial licence, stating that if Pennant Hills was not complete at that time, they would make alternative arrangements.
In Australia, the Telefunken system gained extensive publicity from: As a result the firm started to make significant inroads on the rapidly growing market for wireless installations on coastal shipping in Australia and New Zealand, as well as inter-island shipping in the Pacific AWL/AWCL had a close association with the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914.
The firm supplied two complete Telefunken 2 kW wireless telegraphy systems to the expedition which were established at Macquarie Island and Cape Denison.