Six-figure Dialling To Be Introduced In City

Press, Volume C, Issue 29474, 28 March 1961, Page 14

Six-figure Dialling To Be Introduced In City

A system of mixed five- and six-figure dialling is to be introduced into the Christchurch telephone network in 1963 in place of the present five-figure system.

Some of the equipment now being installed in satellite exchanges cannot be used until the introduction of the new system, as there are not enough five-figure numbers to cope with the demand. The full waiting-list in some areas cannot therefore be satisfied before 1963, although the Post Office will continue to connect subscribers at a substantial rate in districts where circuits corresponding to vacant numbers are still available.

The basic operation of the change-over wi’l be the replacement of the central exchange rotary-type equipment, which can only handle five-figure numbers. The rotary equipment was installed as one of the two original Christchurch automatic exchanges in 1929. The equipment which replaces it will be of the step-by-step type, similar to equipment in a newer part of the central exchange and in the satellite exchanges. Exchanges where not all new equipment will be usable until 1963 include Islington, Papanui. Beckenham, Shirley, Mount Pleasant and Riccarton. A bottleneck will also remain in the central exchange area, where two new satellite exchanges at Linwood and Hillmorton will be brought in at the 1963 changeover to relieve the central equipment. The new Governor’s Bay exchange, which will be cut in later this year, will remain outside the Christchurch dialling network until the new system provides the necessary connexion numbers.

Special new equipment will be i-.stalled at the central exchange to enable a large user to have as many linked lines as required. The present equipment sets a limit at 20 linked lines. 35,000 Changes

At the changeover, about 35,000 subscribers will have their numbers altered. Sixfigure numbers will be allocated initially to subscribers on the Linwood. Hillmorton, Fendalton, New Brighton, Papanui,. and St. Albans exchanges. The Christchurch telephone system began in 1882 with 27 subscribers. It reached 1000 in 1902, 5000 in 1920, 10.000 in 1938. 20,000 in 1955, and 30,000 in 1958, and now has 41,000. The Christchurch divisional equipment engineer (Mr E G. Harris) explained yesterday that although the five-figure system theoretically accommodated 100,000 numbers, the “0” as first digit was reserved for tolls, the ”9” was unusable because fumbling with the handset could give the

same effect as dialling this particular number and another digit (1) was reserved for special services. Of the remaining 70,000 numbers, some were unallotted because allotments were made in units of 1000, which meant that where an exchange did not, for the time being, need 100 connexions, several hundred numbers would remain temporarily unused. The changeover will complete the conversion of the Christchurch exchange network to the step-by-step system. The conversion began just after World War 11. Previous to that, the four automatic exchanges then in operation—Christchurch Central, St. Albans, Mount Pleasant, and New Brighton—were all on the rotary system, using equipment provided by a Belgian firm. The step-by-step equipment is of British make. Staff Problem

the staff necessary for the changeover and for the maintenance of the new equipment afterwards. Although there is sufficient qualified staff for this year’s programme, trainees are already needed to provide the qualified staff for succeeding years. The biggest need is at the technician level.

■'The Post Office is also looking for staff for fundamental training in electronic techniques to be ready for the electronic exchange equipment which is expected to begin arriving in some years’ time. This new equipment is already in use in an exchange in the United States and the first British electronic exchange is under construction As an electronic exchange is fully compatible with a general system using present techniques the introduction of such an exchange in Christchurch at some time in the future would not affect the usefulness of the equipment now to be installed.

The Post Office faces a quite serious problem in recruiting