HALF A MILLION TELEPHONES.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19669, 12 July 1929, Page 17

HALF A MILLION TELEPHONES.

AUSTRALIA SIXTH ON THE LIST. WORLD'S RECORD LONGDISTANCE LINE. (ntOH oca SPECIAL BZFBSSBNTAnYX.) CANBERRA, June 28. Telephone communication is now possible between tiie capital cities m t - eastern part of Australia, and p aiis are in band for bridging the gap tween Adelaide and L J e! ' "r I '. , , C j distance ot lu7b miles. hat t_at make possible was disclosed y Postmaster-General, Mr Gibson, m t course of an interview, when he io.a the writer that satisfactory cornni ■ conversations may then be carried between Cairns, in Queensland, ana Gerald ton, in Western Australia, a distance of no lass than 4762 miles. • will be a world's record, be said, long distance land-line telephony. Further, it is proposed to link lasmania with the mainland by means O' a wireless telephone service, and in the next year or two it will ee possible for nearly every telephone subscriber in Australia to communicate with everv other subscriber. Since Mr Gibson assumed office as Postmaster-Genera! there has beer' a marvellous increase in the telephone business of the Commonwealth. Compared with other countries Australia heads the list for the increase during the last five years, as the following figures show:—Australia. 64 per cent.; Great Britain 56 per cent.; New Zea land, 41 per cent.: Germany. 36 per oont.; Switzerland, 34 per cent.; Canada, S3 per cent.: United States, 29 ner cent. "In providing for future requirements," the finister said, "full advantage has been taken of scientific research and dpvelopment throughout the world, and the results of our efforts to secure >rre!»ter effici°ncv are unite evident. The development, has, in fact, been phenomenal. Fiftv vears aero there were no telenhon*" in Australia : to-day there are over 500 000. That is to say, every twelfth person in the Commonwealth has a telephone. On a per capita basis we are sixth on the list of nations showing the greatest number of telephones on a per capita basis In the last seven years the number of connexions has been doubled — a record that verv few administrations of any importance enn equal. In 1922 there were under 3000 telephone exchanges in Australia, but the numoer has now grown to 6000. "The telephone is no longer regarded as a luxury, but as a necessity, and practieallv half of the 500.000 that are in use throughout the Commonwealth are in the homes of the people. Tt has been mv endeavour to see that the conntrv ken* pace with the citv in refrnrd to this service, and rural telephone exchanges are going to play a more and more important part as time goes on. "Sometimes one hears criticism ot the telephone service but it is rmallv based on insufficient evidence. Kvpry great department is liable to criticism at times, of course. b"t whf>n the whnlp of the facts are considered thp wonder is that such * service as this should escape with so little of it.

"In conclusion. I would lik« to point out that the low charges in Australia have been largely responsible for the exeat development thnt has taken place. Telephone subscribers in Australia enjoy terms that are not available in any other part of the world. Tf we were to make charges similar to those of other leading telephone countries the service would show a big profit instead of the loss that is being made at present. If our tariff were on the same scale as. that .pbtemins in the tTriitpJ fttates, for mstnnee. the servir-e would show a orofit of no less a sum than £2.000 000 per annum. How ever, it is the Government's policy to place the telephone within the reach ftf all. Tt would he easv to put up the rates, but we prefer to put op with h loss in this great public service."