WARTIME COMMUNICATIONS

Chronicle (Levin), 26 July 1946, Page 7

WARTIME COMMUNICATIONS

^ ■ COST ALMOST £1,000,000

Wartime communications installed by the Post- and Telegraph Department m New Zealand, a-s well as in Piji and other Pacific islands, cost approximately £1,000,000, states the Department 's annual report- tabled in tlie House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The additional facilities provided included installations in nnlitary camps, radio channels, ldng-dis-tance niachine printing telegraph channels, telephone communication networks, and lines to- coast-watehmg stations. Of 27,000 applications on hand for telephone connections, approximately 70 per cent. are in respeet of exchanges at which switching equipment is eongested, continues the report. The supply position had eased to the extent that all wartime restrictions on the provision of telephone exchange services had been lifted, but, particularly in tlie four main centres, little could be done to provide services for waiting applicants in view of lack of switching equipment and congestion in telephone cables. The report described a new method of handling radio-telegraphic traflic -to and from sliips on long-distance routes. Under the new organisation the world was divided into eight areas, eac-h ot whicli had a central radio station for communication with shipping. All sliips were nornially in touch with at least oue area station and to facilitatc the disposal of radio telegrains to sliips at great distances messuges were passed by radio channels witliout additional cliarge to the area transmittmg stations. A further point covered in the report was a projected iniprovement to the New Zealand- United Kingdon) radiotelephone serviee. Following e-xperi-ments earried out in 19-14-45, radio j propagation tests had been conducted j between Britain and New Zealand with ia view to deteruiining the practicability of direct radio communication ] between the two countries. It was ex'pected that the int'ormation gained | would make a substantial contribution towards improvements in tlie serviee.