WINNING TENDER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 217, 12 September 1936, Page 22

WINNING TENDER.

SUBMARINE CABLE. COOK STRAIT LINK. IMPORTANT ADVANCE. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, this day. The Postmaster-General, the Hon. F.' Jones, announces tiiat the Post and Telegraph Department has accepted the tender of Submarine Cables, Limited, of London, for the manufacture of a new cable, about 3iS miles long, specially designed for telephone communication across Cook Strait. "The telephone business between the two islands," said Mr. Jones, "has grown at a remarkable rate, until it has practically reached the full capacity of the existing channels, although modern development- in connection with highfrequency carrier currents enabled a great deal more work to be carried by some of the older cables than was actually practicable when they were originally designed and laid. The present cross-strait communications are provided by one four-core 'loaded' telephone cable —enabling four conversations to be conducted simultaneously—and six singlecore telegraph cables. These seven cables yield a total of six telephone channels, plus four single-wire machineprinting telegraph circuits. It is necessary to provide for rapid advances in business, and a good margin for contingencies, and this will be amply covered bv the capacity of the new cable, which is of the single-core coaxial type, similar in general characteristics to that recently laid by the Commonwealth Government across Bass Strait, between the mainland and Tasmania. . It represented so important an advance in the communication across Bass Strait that the Commonwealth Government signalised it with the issue of a commemorative stamp. The cable has been very successful in its operation, giving five telephone channels and 18 telegraph circuits simultaneously, a notable advance in the technique of submarine cable construction. "The new Cook Strait cable will have a central core of copper surrounded by an insulating medium recently developed and known' as paragutta. Spirally wound over this will be several coppei tapes, then a layer of jute, over, which is placed the outside protective covering of heavy iron wires. This type of cable is specially adapted for the use of highfrequencv current, and it will be practicable to operate simultaneously 25 carrier current telephone channels —enabling 25 conversations to take place—and, it can be used at the same time for 18 two-way teleprinter telegraphic channels. "The contract date for completing the manufacture of tbe new cable i--. March next, when' it will be shipped to the Department's cable stores in Wellington, and laid by the cable ship Recorder on a route from Lvall Bay to Blind River, near Seddon."