Shortwave radio were required. It was also difficult to beam the radio wave directionally with long wave, resulting in a major loss of power over long distances. Prior to the 1920s, the shortwave frequencies above 1.5 MHz were regarded as useless for long distance communication and were designated in many countries for amateur use. Guglielmo Marconi, pioneer of radio, commissioned his assistant Charles Samuel Franklin to carry out a large scale study into the transmission characteristics of short wavelength waves and to determine their suitability for long distance transmissions. Franklin rigged up a large antenna at Poldhu Wireless Station, Cornwall, running on
Alenia Marconi Systems 2001 AMS' missile systems division was merged with Aerospatiale Matra Missiles and Matra BAe Dynamics to form MBDA. On 7 October 2003 the UK holding company for AMS changed its registered name from Alenia Marconi Systems Limited to AMS Limited to comply with the agreements reached regarding use of the name "Marconi" following the sale of Marconi Electronic Systems by GEC (later Marconi plc). This name change was reflected in rebranding across the company, although the Italian holding company retained the name Alenia Marconi Systems SpA. On 28 January 2005 BAE Systems and Finmeccanica announced the intention to dissolve their