TELEPHONE CHARGES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 289, 31 August 1920, Page 6

TELEPHONE CHARGES

AN AMENDED SCALE

CONCESSIONS TO SUBURBAN

DWELLERS

The Postmaster-General (Hon. J. Q. urates) promised recently to reconsider the amended scale of telephone ciiargcs,. He had beon urged specially to make concessions to suburban tolcphono subscribers, and to users of the telephones in the country districts. A etatement issued by the Minister yesterday shows that some changes have beon made In the directions suggested. Tho new scale is to come into operation to-morrow. The telephone rates for tho first mile in the case of both business and private residence connections will remain unaltered, but thereafter a reduction of 2s. Gd. will be made for eocn ounrler-mile or fraction thereof. At tho four principal exchanges, viz., Auckland, Wellington, Christehurch, and Dunedin. the minimum rate for business subscribers will be £9 10.=. per annum for the first- raiTe or fraction thereof. At these offices the number of subscribers is very large, and tho facilities for exchange communications with other subscribers are proportionately increased. The demand on tho operating staffs for the service required by business connections is .considerably (rroater than is tho case with private rosidenco connections, and it is considered to bo not unreasonable that such connections should be chnrged at a slightly higher rate. The total subscription only amounts to n fraction over sixpence a day, a modcrnto rate for tho service given to oven tho small business subscriber to a largo exchange. A few examples of tho effect of the reduction are as follow:—

Private residence' subscribers distant threo miles from tho exchange ,noi? charged -Cl 2 per annum will bo required ■to nay ill. distant five miles got a reduction of £2 per annum. A business subscriber whoso premises are distant threo miles from the exchange will got a reduction of ill per annum, and so on. The-distance over which half-mto connections mav be made, namely, 25 miles, which was in force prior to the recent amendment, has been reverted to.