Wireless Ship Act of 1910

[1] This proposed treaty was brought before the U.S. Senate for ratification in early 1908, but in the face of strong opposition by the largest radio companies it was unable to gain approval.

Despite the failure of the ratification effort for the 1906 Berlin Convention, it was recognized that there were strong public safety concerns that needed to be addressed, especially after the 1909 RMS Republic incident, where an onboard radio installation contributed to saving the lives of 1,200 people.

The new law required that all passenger-carrying ocean vessels of any nationality leaving a U.S. port had to be fitted with efficient radio apparatus when carrying 50 or more passengers and crew.

The Commerce Department implemented examinations and began issuing two year "Certificates of Skill in Radiocommunication", with the tests taking place at navy yards.

Changes included adding vessels on the Great Lakes, requiring auxiliary electrical power supplies independent of a vessel's main power plant that were capable of enabling radio apparatus to be operated continuously for at least four hours at a minimum range of 100 miles (160 km), and a requirement that ships carry two or more operators and maintain a continuous watch.

[7] Although a substantial aid to "Safety at Sea" concerns, the Act, even after amendment, did little to improve numerous interference issues, and may have exacerbated the problem by increasing the number of transmitters without adopting any regulations to specify operating standards and control malicious behavior.