Kringkastingsselskapet

Kringkastingsselskapet A/S ("The Broadcasting Company") was Norway's first radio broadcasting service and operated out of Oslo from 1925 until 1933, when it was taken over by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

The Norwegian Telegraphy Administration started examining the question of radio broadcasting in 1922. After consulting other countries, it recommended that the government own and operate the transmission infrastructure. In 1923 Norway abolished its earlier ban on listening to foreign radio stations without a permit. At the same time, the obtaining of a licence to transmit was made a legal requirement. Several companies had already banded together in 1922 with a view to obtaining permission to broadcast. The financing of their broadcasting operations was to be based upon a combination of the revenues obtained from on-air advertising and the licence fees payable by those purchasing and owning a radio set. In a bid to avoid some of the problems that had arisen in the United States, the administration tried to restrict the extent to which the manufacturers of radio sets could also own broadcasting stations.

Kringkastingsselskapet was granted the first permit in 1924. It had more than 2000 shareholders, the largest of whom were the Marconi Company, Telefunken, and Western Electric. The company had a permit to establish a transmitter in Oslo with a range of 150 kilometers (93 mi). Although owned by Kringkastingsselskapet, this was operated by the Telegraphy Administration. An additional five transmitters were built in Eastern Norway during the 1920s. These included Rjukan in 1925, Notodden and Porsgrunn in 1926, and Hamar and Fredrikstad in 1927. Norway was allocated three broadcasting frequencies in the Geneva Plan which became effective in November 1926. Further radio stations were established in Bergen in 1925, Tromsø in 1926, and Ålesund in 1927.

...
Wikipedia