ACUTE TELEPHONE HUNGER IN NEW ZEALAND TODAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 94, 13 September 1948, Page 5

ACUTE TELEPHONE HUNGER IN NEW ZEALAND TODAY

Equipment Comes Forward Slowly It is not so long since the New Zealand Post Office used to send men round selling telephone service and asking people to take a telephone. Today, the Post Office, in endeavouring to cope with many thousands of applications, is making every effort to get equipment and to stretch the capacities of existing equipment to give* service to the maximum number possible. There are two reasons for this amazing turnabout in 10 years—the war and also a greatly increased telephone consciousness. These two factors are world wide. .During the war telephone systems and telephone factories on the Continent and in Britain were destroyed. The factories which escaped were completely diverted to military production. The result was that while telephones were destroyed, the means of replacing them were not available. Factories are getting into production again now, but before thdy can hope to cope with the phenomenal new demands, the problem of making up the huge world leeway in telephone equipment has to be solved.

* New Zealand’s telephone hunger, with 41,292 applicants awaiting telephones, is no exception. Today in the United States of America 3,000,000 people await telephones; in Britain there are large waiting lists, and in Australia and South Africa the position is the same. In New Zealand there has been an astonishing increase in telephone consciousness. There are more businesses and they are all doing more business. Military service made more people communication-mind-ed. The comparatively low rental charges in New Zealand are another factor. Since 1939 more than 100,000 new main telephone connections have been made throughout New Zealand. In the financial year, 1947-48, 12,999 new subscribers were connected compared with 11,992 new subscribers connected in 1946-47. All this has been achieved in spite of equipment difficulties. Such equipment as comes forward is put into service as fast as possible. In the planned programme there is full provision for permanent relief, but it will take time.