TELEPHONE FINANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 120, 23 May 1922, Page 2

TELEPHONE FINANCE.

1 REASONS FOR REVISED TARIFF : LOSSES OX THE .SERVICE. """ ——— $v» (Special to "Star." ( WELLINGTON, this day. Telephone subscribers became con- ! cerned two 'months ago over a. report ; that it was intended to substantially m- ; crease the rates. It was reassuring to find that the subsequent half-yearly • accounts went out with no sign of a f change. However, the revisions arc , : coming, and the delay has been due to . the care taken to completely re-model 1 the scale of charges. The increases will come, but, from what can be gath--1 ered, the cost of telephoning to small ; users, especially those in the country, is , not likely to be materially increased, if ■ any change at all is made. Aji investi--1 gation of the systems of telephone ' charges has been made on 'behalf of the Poet end Telegraph Department by one : of its high officers, and a ?ood deal of i the information he collected regarding i systems in other countries has been - published. Taking this ac a guide, it ■ becomes evident that tho iucvitable j changes will go in the direction of making a heavier charge on busy telephones, although the system of assessing payi merit according to the. a<<tual number of ' calls is not officially favoured. The telephone 'balance-sheet, as pub- ' lished in the Dominion's official etatis- ■ tics, is not satisfactory from <the profit- ' making point of view. Xo doubt the > railway policy of regarding means of ' coimnumdeatio'n as a. national necessity . not to be assessed in actual money ' returns will apply to the telephones of . New Zealand, but in these figures the ' Postmaster-General finds justification ' for making some important changes, ! thf de.ta.ile of which are not yet availi able. For many years the average return ; from telephones has been less than 3 j per cent on the capital invested, but since the end of the war matters have ■ become werse. Successive wage bonuses, i totalling eventually a «2 per cent in- ■ crease on pre-war salaries, and great ' increases in cost of material, threw the - cash statement on to the debit side in 1920. There had been an apparent difference of £21,303 of income over exjjpenditure in 1919, but in the following year a. loss of ~t:i9,027 appeared. Thte ! oamc down to a loss of £10,655 in 1921. ~ The expenditure includes 5 per cent for t debenture interest, but nothing for dc--1 preciation, so thut thp lose is really ' larger than the figures indicate. It is remarkable how the capital investment in telephones and lines has grown, the total of £2,641,000 being wore than ' double the invested capital at the time the war commenced. Subscribers ha.ye not increased in exactly similar pro portion, but the average cost of a telephono connection has grown from .€23 - prewar to over £3.! to-day. It has ' recently been announced thai the . Dominion"* telephones ehowed a good ■ credit balance as a result of last year's ■operations, but the financial position is oftieiaJly regarded ac warranting a -, revision of the charges.