In 1920, Westinghouse and General Electric were two of the largest electrical firms in the United States, although G.E. was by far the bigger of the two. G.E.'s purchase of American Marconi's assets, and the subsequent creation of its new Radio Corporation of American subsidiary, was a wakeup call for Westinghouse, which saw itself falling behind in the developing radio industry. American Marconi had dwarfed the rest of the U.S. radio industry, so its purchase by G.E. immediately gave that company the dominant position in the industry. But Westinghouse started to do its best to set up some sort of competing radio operation. A major purchase was the International Radio Telegraph Company, the reorganized successor to Fessenden's National Electric Signaling Company, which had struggled for many of the years since 1912 in receivership, after Fessenden's break with NESCO and subsequent lawsuit. This acquisition didn't do much to help G.E. compete with RCA in international communications, but it did help start the process which would lead to Westinghouse setting up four broadcasting stations during the next year, as part of its "development of new uses" for radio.
Electrical Review, October 16, 1920, page 615:
WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY ENTERS WIRELESS FIELD.
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Controlling Interest Acquired in International Radio Telegraph Co.--Massachusetts Factory to Be Equipped to Make Apparatus.
The Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. has acquired a controlling interest in the International Radio Telegraph Co., and in the future will manufacture the radio equipment heretofore produced by the latter organization, which was founded by R. A. Fessenden, the pioneer investigator in the continuous-wave field. The Radio company operates and maintains Wireless stations on ships, and has shore stations at Newport, New London, Brooklyn, Cape May, with others under construction in Maine and Massachusetts.
A new company has been organized under the same name, with a capital of $1,250,000 in preferred stock and 250,000 shares of common stock of no par value. The officers are Guy E. Tripp, chairman; E. M. Herr, president; S. M. Kinter, Calvert Townley and H. P. Davis, vice-presidents; John V. L. Hogan, manager. All of these are Westinghouse officials except Messrs. Kinter and Hogan, who were president and manager, respectively, of the older company.
The Westinghouse company will be interested in both the manufacturing and the operating branches of wireless telegraphy and telephony. A separate factory has been equipped at East Springfield, Mass., for the manufacture of all types of modern radio apparatus, from the largest transmitting and receiving sets required by transoceanic stations to the small sets used by the amateur. Apparatus will not only be supplied for the land, sea, ship, airplane, military and naval services, but special attention will be paid to the development of new uses, such as for railroads, power companies, mines, lumber camps, ranches and farms, and for inter-works communications of large industries. A staff of research and design engineers has been built up and important fundamental development work is under way.