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Toll-dialling Equipment As a means of reducing the delay on toll traffic and of obtaining more efficient utilization of available toll lines, equipment has now been landed to provide long-distance toll dialling by the toll operators at the main centres. The method to be employed represents the most modern and efficient means of direct dialling over toll lines, and enables a toll operator at the originating exchange to dial the wanted number without the assistance of the operator at the distant exchange. Carrier-telephone Systems on Toll Routes During the year forty-six additional toll circuits were brought into use, principally on secondary routes. Twelve of these were provided by means of carrier-telephone systems superimposed on existing wires, and the remainder by utilizing'telegraph lines no longer required for telegraph purposes and by the erection of new wire. A further supply of twenty single-channel carrier systems has just been received from the manufacturers, and the installation of these is in hand. An order for a number of three-channel systems was placed early in the year for installation on some of the more-congested routes. The plans covering the full development of the toll system were advanced a further stage with the calling of tenders, in December, 1948, for the supply of twelve-channel systems for operation on main trunk routes connecting the more important cities, PUBLIC CALL OFFICES At the 31st March there were 1,594 public call offices (coin-in-slot telephones) installed in New Zealand. The total collections for the year amounted to £109,286. (See also Table No. 6in Appendix.) RADIO SERVICES (INLAND) Kadio communication is becoming an important factor in the life of the community, as is evidenced by the many applications received by the Department iuring the year for licences to operate public and private radio-communication '•ervices. In the main, these services have been established to enable mobile mits such as cars, trucks, ambulancs, heavy machinery transporters, yachts, aunches, &c., to communicate with their headquarters. POST OFFICE SERVICE FOR MOBILE VEHICLES Radio-telephone service for.mobile vehicles, as outlined in last year's report, has now been inaugurated at Auckland, "Wellington, and Dunedin. The establishment of a service at Christchurch has been delayed by land-purchase transactions. Investigations are also being made with a view to the early establishment of similar services at Napier, Wanganui. Palmerston North, and other towns, from several- of which applications for service have already been received. The base station or stations to serve the particular area are provided by the Post Office on a rental basis, while the equipment in the vehicles is provided and maintained by the subscriber. The service utilizes the amplitude-modulation method of transmission and operates on very-high-frequency waves in the frequency band 100-108 mc/s. The annual charges for service ona" party-line " (shared) basis are £25 plus £lO for each vehicle, while an exclusive channel serving an unlimited number of vehicles will be provided for £4OO per annum.

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