After World War I began in August 1914, the western Allies cut the German transatlantic telegraph cables. This caused a tremendous increase in radio traffic across the Atlantic Ocean. The General Electric corporation bought the stock of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America in 1919. With this they formed the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). After the golden age of Radio had passed, RCA began to decline. In 1982 they ended most of their public affairs programs. Finally, in 1986, General Electric bought back RCA, along with NBC, for $6.28 million.