TELEPHONE USE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 42, 20 February 1939, Page 8

TELEPHONE USE

BIG ADVANCE JN NEW ZEALAND A RECORD LAST YEAR. The telephone system of the Dominion has expanded so rapidly as to place New Zealanders high up on the list of the world's greatest telephone users. The past year ended with a toal number of suoscriber connections to exchanges of 155,203, showing a net gain for the 12 months which has never previously been exceeded. How the fast pace of telephone development has continued since the economic depression is shown by the figures of succeeding years:—

This survey shows that the number of subscribers has grown by 33,710 since the service commenced to again advance after the depression of 1932. There are other important featurs in this development. The telephone has long ceased to be an instrument lor occasional use. "Telephone convenience" has been studied by New Zealanders, not only by business men who require the instrument on their desks, but by private residents who install extension telephones in their rooms instead of confining the handy instrument to the hall. The result has been that there are nearly 40,000 telephones supplementing the main exchange connections. The telephone on the street corner is another appreciated facility, and (here are over a thousand public call offices throughout the Dominion. New Zealand is the only country in the world in which calls may be made through public coin-in-the-slot telephones for one penny. Altogether there are nearly 198,000 telephones in use. and of these 55 per cent, are automatically operated by the subscribers through 17 of the larger exchanges.

Subscribers. Net gain. December, 1933 121,493 — December, 1934 ... 123,279 1,786 December, 1935 .... 127,864 4,585 December, 1936 ... 136,029 8.165 December, 1937 .... 145,407 9,378 December. 1938 .... 155,203 9,796