South Africa concludes an agreement with the Marconi Company for a high

During the South African War in 1899, Marconi wireless equipment was tested in South Africa, with mixed results. Land-based military radio proved problematic, but five Marconi installations on naval cruisers in 1900 proved successful. By 1912, there were Marconi stations all over the world, including South Africa, which was then part of the British Empire. On 7 September 1922, South Africa concluded an agreement with the Marconi Company for a high powered radio station, in the same year that radio was revealed to the public for the first time at the Great Empire Exhibition. In 1926, developments took place to build an Imperial Wireless Chain around the world, which brought further wireless construction to South Africa, which operated on a shortwave system. This was known as the Imperial Beam system, and Marconi Beam still refers to a place in Cape Town where this technology was used.