LONDON'S TELEPHONES.

Shannon News, 7 March 1924, Page 4

LONDON'S TELEPHONES.

AUTOIMATICS ADOPTED. The decision to discontinue the installation of manually-operated tele, phone exchanges in the London area and to substitute automatic exchanges has led to large contracts being placed for the manufacture of the necessary equipment. The difficulties of evolving a system of handling by automatic means the intricate traffic of the London telephone area have been overcome and the equipping- of the new exchanges with automatic plant will be commenced as soon as the exchange buildings can be built, The system will provide for the needs of over 1,000,000 subscribers connected to more than 100 exchanges. For the provision of these exchanges it will not be possible to provide the necessary number of cables by means of ordinary street ducts laid near the surface, and it has been decided that the cables must be housed in special tunnels carried at a depth below the surface of the roadway. The difficulty of placing conduits under roadways increases, and to obviate the necessity for opening up the roads for cablelaying operations use is being made by the telephone department of the Post Office, whenever conditions per-, mit, of. a thrust borer machine, which has'been used with success.