Patent royalty charges were payable to Amalgamated Wireless (A/asia) Limited, the basis being that the Company should charge the Class "A" companies not more than 5/- per licence per annum. Other arrangements were made in regard to Class "B" stations. In November, 1927, when the Commonwealth Government agreed to pay Amalgamated Wireless a proportion of the listeners' fees, a new basis was introduced covering the use of the Company's patents, both in the Class "A" and Class "B " stations, and also in wireless receivers. The agreement provided that Amalgamated Wireless (A/asia) Ltd. should be paid 3/- per licence fee per annum.

The Class "B" stations were permitted to broadcast advertisements or other paid publicity without restriction by the Department, but the extent of advertising by the Class "A" stations was limited in the Regulations to a total period not exceeding 60 minutes per day.

The licence period for a Class "A" or Class "B" station was five years from the date of issue.

The First "A" Licences

The schedule hereunder shows particulars of the Class "A" Licences issued under the 1924 Regulations:-

Callsign	Licensee	Frequency Kc/s	Wave- length	Power Watts (anode)	Date of expiry of Licence
2BL	(a) New South Wales Broadcasting Co. Ltd	855	*350	5,000	21/7/29
2FC	(b) New South Wales Broadcasting Co. Ltd	665	*451	5,000	16/7/29
3AR	(c) Dominion Broadcasting Co. Ltd	620	*484	5,000	7/8/29
3L0	(d) Dominion Broadcasting Co Ltd	808	*375	5,000	21/7/29
4QG	Queensland Radio Service	760	*394.5	5,000	29/1/30
5CL	Central Broadcasters Ltd.	730	*412	5,000	13/1/30
6WF	(e) Westralian Farmers Ltd	690	*435	5,000	21/7/29
7ZL	(f) Tasrnanian Broadcasters Pry. Ltd	580	516	3,000	13/12/30

• (a) 2BL Licence originally issued on 22/7/1924 in name of Broadcasters (Sydney) Ltd.
• (b) 2FC Licence originally issued on 17/7/1924 in name of Farmer & Co. Transferred to 2FC Ltd. onl;12/1927. Both stations amalgamated under ownership of New South Wales Broadcasting Co. on 14/8/1928.
• (c) 3AR Licerce originally issued on 8/8/1924 to Associated Radio Co.
• (d) 3L0 Licence onginally issued on 22/7/1924 to Broadcasting Co. of Australia. Both stations amalgamated under ownership of Dominion Broadcasting Co. on 1/3/1928.
• (e) Service transferred to Postmaster General's Department on 20/12/1928 at request of company.
• (f) Originally issued to Associated Radio Co. on 14/12/1925. Transferred to Tasmanian Broadcasters Co. on 19/7/1927.
• *2FC Original licensed wavelength, 1,100 metres, changed to 442 metres on 2/10/1926. changed to 451 metres on 1/9/1929.
• *2BL Original licensed wavelength, 350 metres, changed to 353 metres on 12/5/1925. changed again to 350 metres in January, 1928.
• *3AR Origional licensed wavelength, 480 metres,changed to 484 metres on 12/5/1925.
• *3L0 Original licensed wavelength. 1,720 metres, changed to 371 metres on 1/7/1925. changed to 375 metres in Januanv, 1928.
• *4QG Original licensed wavelength. 385 metres, changed to 395 metres in Januarv. 1928.
• *5CL Original licensed wavelength. 395 metres, changed to 412 metres on 1311/1928.
• *6WF Original licensed wavelength, 1.250 metres, changed to 435 metres on 1/9/1929.

• * Licence not renewed. Station ceased operations on 6/11/1929.
• (a) Licence originally issued to O. Sandell. Transferred to Radio Broadcasting Ltd. on 12/4/1928.
• (b) Licence originally issued to H. A. Douglas. Transferred to W. W. Johnston on 21/2/1928.
• (c) Licence originally issued to Druleigh Business and Technical College Pty. Ltd. Transferred to 3DB pty. Ltd. on 1/6/1027. Acquired by the 'Herald' on 14/6/1929.
• (d) Licence originally issued to E. J. Hume. Transferred to SDN Pty. Ltd.. on 31/7/1925.

A Proved Success

The success of the new scheme may he gauged from the fact that the listeners' licences increased from 38,000 in June, 1925 to 310,000 in July, 1929.

Notwithstanding the general success of this scheme, however, there were certain features in it which favoured some States more than others. For instance in Victoria, a much greater revenue was available for the Companies owing to the fact that 140,000 licences were issued. It was largely a matter of distribution of population. The cost of providing a service for a small population was almost as great as that for a much larger population, and the States of great extent of territory, such as Queensland and Western Australia, were more in need of relaying stations in the country districts than a small State like Victoria.

These and other factors relating to broadcasting led the Government to appoint in January, 1927, a Royal Commission to investigate broadcasting conditions throughout the States. The Commission made certain recommendations involving, among others, the pooling of a portion of the licence fees of all states with the object of guaranteeing a minimum revenue to the companies in each State. The Commission's report was considered exhaustively by the Government, and finally in October, 1927, a conference of all the Class "A" companies was called by the Prime Minister. The representatives were unable to agree on any common scheme, but the Government asked the Companies to consider the matter exhaustively with the object of arranging for co-ordination between the companies, so that the larger States could help the smaller States in providing a satisfactory service throughout the Commonwealth. Negotiations along these lines continued during the ensuing seven months, but in July, 1928, the Government decided that it was desirable to introduce a new scheme.