TELEPHONE SERVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1921, Page 6

TELEPHONE SERVICE.

NEW ZEALAND’S CHEAPEST IN •WORLD. Telephone service in New Zeftland is the cheapest in the world —and yet New Zealand is ia.rt.hest away from all sources of telephonic material. The private residence rate with:” a mile •from the exchange is only £6, whilst the business one is £9 10s per year in tb° four centres, at other continuous e.'? changes from £8 to CO 10s per annum and in the case of places where the o: changes are not continuously open fro-.: £6 (for half-mile) to £7 10s (withi.one mile). As against this an exclusive wire in London costs £8 10s, in the pro vince.-. £7 lOs per annum, but on top of that 1 3 / ; d is surcharged for each message. So that even if the telephone was only rung on an average of four times a day (6d) the charge in London would be £8 10s, plus £9 2s 6d a total of £l7 12s Gd per annum. An ordinary private residence line in Paris £27 15s per annum; flats or tenements, £39 13s; hotels, cafes, etc., £4l 12s, and on top of that 2bl per originating call, which means that the telephone in Paris is a luxury! Tn areas of over 20,000 inhabitants the annua] charge -for a telephone in Germany is £l7 13s.

In Sweden the are adjusted according to the number of calls. Up to 1200 calls per annum, the charge is £4 8s; over 5000 calls, £0 10s (private houses only). The Swiss charges (of last year) range from £2 Ids to £3 19s per annum according to the number of subscribers and the distance, but Id was charged on top of that for each originating call. The foregoing information is given in the report furnished to the Government a few mouths ago by the Chief Telegraph Engineer (Mr. A. E. Shrimpton) on. his return from England and America.