37

F.—l

The following table shows the total number of cable messages, excluding press, forwarded by each route during each of the past five years ; also the percentage of such traffic falling to each.

Press messages numbering 5,685 were sent via Pacific and 2,621 via Eastern, compared with 5,102 and 2,381 respectively during 1928-29. The number received via Pacific was 5,869, and via Eastern 3,759, compared with 9,003 and 3,708 respectively during the previous year. The following table shows the total number of each class of message, excluding press, dealt with during 1929-30, as compared with the number dealt with during 1928-29 :—

(For further statement of cable business see page 55.) RADIO-TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SERVICES. OVERSEAS RADIO-TELEPHONY. The commercial and social facilities arising from linkage of countries by means of radio-telephony are rapidly resulting in the extension of this means of communication in many parts of the world. New services are frequently being instituted between the older countries, and, realizing the benefit that such a service would bestow upon an isolated country such as New Zealand, the Department has conferred with the Australian Administration with a view to having the two countries connected by radio-telephone. It is expected that it will be possible to establish this service in the near future; and in the meantime arrangements are being made for the purchase of the requisite modulation equipment for installation at Wellington, to be used in conjunction with the recently installed shortwave transmitter. For some considerable time tests were carried out daily between the radio-telephone stations at Rugby, England, and Sydney, Australia, the tests being the .preliminary to the establishment of a radio-telephone service between the two countries. [The service was inaugurated on the 30th April, 1930.] Throughout the tests observations were carried out at Awarua Radio, and a large amount of data accumulated which will be of value in connection with the projected services between New Zealand and Australia and New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is being arranged that facilities will be available for switching the proposed New ZealandAustralian channel to the Australia-Great Britain link, thereby completing a radio-telephone channel between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. RADIO-TELEGRAPH SERVICE BETWEEN NEW ZEALAND AND PACIFIC ISLANDS. In last year's report reference was made to the contemplated improvement in the New ZealandPacific islands short-wave radio-telegraph service by the installation at Wellington Radio of a transmitter of a much higher power than that previously used. The transmitter referred to, which has

Pacific. Eastern. Year. Messages. Year " Messages. 1925-26 204,586 65 1925-26 110,146 35 1926-27 204,051 64-29 1926-27 113,355 35-71 1927-28 210,662 66-07 1927-28 108,167 33-93 1928-29 217,033 66-5 1928-29 109,308 33-5 1929-30 217,038 63-49 1929-30 124,799 36-51

1929-30. 1928-29. Forwarded. Received. Forwarded. Received. Full-rate international cable messages .. .. 95,348 82,920 90,114 83,701 *C.D.E. international cable messages . . .. 319 574 Deferred international cable messages .. .. 26,316 28,288 24,461 26,186 Daily letter-telegrams .. .. .. .. 38,105 30,486 35,215 27,353 Week-end telegrams .. .. .. .. 32,263 20,695 29,609 18,875 Australian cable messages .. .. .. 83,131 79,212 81,926 78,398 * Australian C.D.E. messages .. .. . . 113 43 Australian night-letter telegrams .. .. 66,242 64,840 65,016 62,199 Totals .. .. .. .. 341,837 307,058 326,341 296,712 * C.D.E. service established 1/10/29.