Minister Surveys Telephone Shortage

Chronicle (Levin), 13 March 1946, Page 5

Minister Surveys Telephone Shortage

-Press Association

WAR-IMPOSED PR0BLE1S I i No Immediate Easing Likely

By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, March 33. The acting-Postmaster-Gen-eral (ILon. F. Jones), in a statement issued to-day about the telephone posiltion in the Dominion, indicated that from the number of enquiries received it was evident that many applicants were anxious to know how soon it would be before they could be given a telephone service. Mr. Jones thought it was timely to let the people know some of the difficuities with which the post office had been 1 faced in ihe war years, and some ox the problems involved in providing telephone exchange connections now that the war was over. Mr. Jones pointed out that' the great bulk of telephone equipment had to be obtained from overseas, and that while it had always been the policy to order progressively in adequate time to meet demands, it was unfortunate that large orders for telephone equipment and material placed under this system jusi prior to the war were not satisfied As more and more countries becamu involved in the war, New Zealand's sources of supply progressively diminished, and from about 1941 onwards it was impracticable to obtain any material other than tha. required for purposes directly associated with the war efTort. In thes; circumstances the installation of new telephones was early limited to those of an essential nature, and as a result- the waiting list grew a all Ihe New Zealand exchanges. No fewer than 20,850 unsatisfied applications were recorded on Ihe various wailing lists on January 31 last. It was estimated that within the next two to three years ai least 15,000 additional applications for a telephone service would be received. Although the war was over, the position regarding supplies of materials had not eascd to any appreciable extent, and it was still necessary to ration stocks. Extent of Restrietions New connections had been restricted to those required for members of the business and farming communities, and in the case of residential premises to those foi docturs and nurses, or in cases oi serious illness or other emergency Ordinary residential connection.. 'were being instalied only to the ex tent that existing subsc'ribers relinquished, tfie service, and then h. order oi' piiority. The restrictions are being removed progressiveiyas the supply situation improves, and advice fron overseas respecting the supply o telephones indicates that it will bt possible in the very near future tc completely relax the restrictions a those exchanges at which vacant switching (i.e. internal exchange accommodation, was available. Un- ! fortunately, however, the replenishjing of stocks of telephones woulc not give any relief at exchanges • that were now working at fuL I capacity. A number of manual exj changes, as well as the majority o ; the automatic exchanges, were fullj j loaded, and uncil additional equipI ment was instalied new connections i could be arranged only by rei allocati'ng switching units relinj quished by existing subscribers. ; No'twithstanding the scarcity oi material and equipment, however ; the Minister stated that it was int teresting to record that no fewei than 45,200 new main telephone connections had been instalied I since April 1, 1941, in addicion to > a number of large private telephone ! exchange systems for the New Zealand armed services and for the United States Army and Navai forces in the Dominion. Since 194C ' the switchboards at over 40 manua : exchanges had been either replaced ■ or extended, while complete new rnanual exchanges had been ini stalled in some cases. Generally extensions for manual switchboards could be manufactured in the Dominion, and ' this work v/as being ' expedited as much as possible. Automatic Equipment Scarce ; The shortage of switching equip- ! ment at the automatic exchanges, however, was more difficult to meet. 1 Of the 19 automatic exchanges, 12 jwere seriously congested and these 1 incluaed the four main centres and Blenheim, Hamilton, Lower Hutt, Masterton, Oamaru, Palmerston iNorth, Hastings and Stratford. Of | the 26,850 waiting applicants. i 19,154 were in automatic exchange j areas, and of these over 15,000 were ; in the four main centres. Very little j automatic equipment reached New j Zealand in the war years. Fortun- | ately the new Gisborne exchange, which was brought into service in July, 1941, was received prior to the war, and shortly after the commencement of hostilities a large amount of equipment to extend the i Auckland automatic system came ! to hand. Notwithstanding the ex- ; tensions made to the Auckland sysJtem and the large number of applicants who had been provideci ' with services, the waiting list for telephones at Auckland was noyr the largest in the Dominion. Some other automatic exchanges had been extended by using equipment which was available in New Zealand.

Little worthwhil'e relief eoufd be. given in the automatic exchange areas, however, rmtil' new switching equipment was received and instalied. While partial reliei might be afforded in some automatic areas,, it would be three years or more before the arrears were overtaken. It was clear that in the congested autO'matic exchange areas the present restrictions on new telephone connections would have to be continued. Big Equipment Orders In order to provide for increased telephone -service and toll facilities, plant to the value of £1,580,000 had alreadjr been ordered, and further orders to the value of £250,0.00 would be placed within the next few weeks.. Included in the amounts mentioned were £340,000 for automatic exchanges, £35.0-, 000 for cable wire and poles, £55,000 for arm timber and £140,000 for telephones. Unfortunately, at the present time material was arriving in the Dominion at the rate of only approximately £130,000- annually. Almost every country in the world was in a similar position to New Zealand, and all overseas administrations were pressing the manufacturers for early deliveries to meet their telephone requirements. New Zealand, too, was bringing all possible pressure to bear to expedite fulfilment of her orders. It was significant that America, the largest telephone manufacturing country in the world, _fiad to drastically restrict. the provision of telephone services during the war years, with the result that at the end of 1944 the waiting list in that country numbered 1,860,000 applicants. Competition For Supplies In addition to competition for supplies from other telephone administrations, there was for certain items competition from other interests. For instance, New Zealand. needed some 1,500,000 super feet of arm timber, and building interests were competing for this. It was expected that on this account thqre would be some difficulty in obtaining adequate supplies of this particular item. Serious Labour Shortage The Minister went on to say that in addition to the lack-of material and equipment, there had been a serious shortage of skilled workmen during the war ^ears. Over 700 trained units of the telephone technical staff had been released for service with the armed forces, while approximately 500 of these men had returned tO' departmental employ and some 200 more were expected to be released from military service within the next few months. The skilled labour position was likely to remain acute for some aittie tirke to come. Quite a few of Hie returned men had been unable co take up their pre-war duties on 'account of inj.uries or other causes, and many others would require refresher courses before they could be regarded as full working units. New labour was being recruited, of course, but much of the work was of a highly skilled nature^ and a period of training would be necessary before these men could be fully utilised. Considerable time and thought had been given to the- question of training returned servieemen, and new schools had been established for this purpose. With so many workmen away with the armed forces and the need, particularly when Japan came into the war, for diverting all available staff and materials to providing communication facilities for the armed forces, little could be done in the way of properly maintainihg - existing ,4ih§s-,. . and plan% ' Much leeway tQ: m&de- -iip' hr ; oringing lines- 'ahd; plant- |ip. tp tfie required standard, " Servihg Rural Areas The erection of new telephone exchange lines to serve rural areas also had been held i-n abeyance for a number of years, and the programme in this respect, as well as in regard to telecommunications generally, had suffered a serious setback, following the extensive disloeation to the line and plant in the Canterbury district as a result of the severe snowstorm in July last. The damage was assessed at over £444,000, and line gangs from all over the Dominion had- to be sent to Canterbury to assist in the urgent repair work. The need for expediting the erection of lines to serve rural areas was, however, fully appreciated by the Government, and no avoidable, delay would occur in commencing the more urgent of these works as soon as labour and material could be made available. In conclusion, Mr. Jones stated that he was most anxious that the telephone needs of the community should be met as quickly as possible. While in many cases. there would be lengthy though unavoidable delay s, those on the waiting lists could rest assured that everything was being done, and would continue to be done, to ensure that - the necessary lines, equipment and instruments w'ould be made available at the earliest possible moment. There would be no failure to im~ provise where this would Jielp in meeting the position temporarily.