USA

This essay explores the development of wireless communications from radiotelegraphy to broadcasting. An under analyzed and important topic, Porfirian and revolutionary wireless officials and policies laid the foundation for Mexico’s powerful broadcasting and telecommunications industries. From the beginning, communications specialists used radio for state and nation building, especially in the hinterlands. The Revolution briefly shifted the focus of wireless experts away from the frontiers and toward warfare; however, the upheaval actually expanded the number of wireless devices and technicians. These professionals subsequently became essential figures in communications projects carried out during the presidencies of Venustiano Carranza and Álvaro Obregon, as well as during the rise of broadcasting in the 1920s.