By 1912 all ocean liners on the Atlantic had wireless telegraph equipment. Marconi was the dominant marine radio company of the time and staffed most ships with wireless telegraphists, who would communicate via morse code with other ships.

Jack Phillips was the chief radio operator on board the Titanic and Harold Bride was his colleague. After the ship struck the iceberg, the two men remained at their post, in what was known as the Marconi Room, sending out a distress signal until their power was cut. The Titanic foundered approximately three minutes later. While Bride survived the accident, Phillips did not.