How did Guglielmo Marconi establish radio communication across the English Channel?

In 1899, Guglielmo Marconi successfully established radio communication across the English Channel by setting up a wireless station at South Foreland, England, to communicate with a station in Wimereux, France, a distance of 50 km (31 miles).1

Marconi achieved this milestone by building upon his earlier experiments with wireless telegraphy. His system utilized an induction coil to increase voltage, with a spark discharger controlled by a Morse key at the sending end. To increase the range of his signals, he employed a vertical aerial connected to a metal plate or cylinder at the top of a pole, with a corresponding connection to the ground. At the receiving end, he used a coherer—a device containing iron filings that would "cohere" when radio-frequency voltage was applied, allowing current to pass and reproduce the Morse code signals.1