Compac Cable To Be Opened By Queen

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30302, 30 November 1963, Page 13

Compac Cable To Be Opened By Queen

(N.Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright)

LONDON, November 29.

A recorded message from the Queen will flash 14,000 miles from London to Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Monday to open the latest stage of a round-the-world Commonwealth telephone cable. Ceremonies in Toronto, Sydney and Wellington are expected to hear the Royal message over the new trouble-free cable as clearly as they do local telephone calls.

It will be followed by talks between the Prime Ministers of the four countries before the new £35 million system is opened for commercial use.

The cable, one of the biggest telecommunication projects ever undertaken, is the second stage of the worldwide link of first planned five years ago at the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference in Montreal The first link, between Britain and Canada, was completed in 1961 —and by 1966 the link is expected to extend on from Australia to Hong Kong by way of New

Guinea and Malaysia. Use of the new cable means that telephone calls will not be subject to fading and atmospheric conditions. Operators in London and Sydney will be able to dial through to subscribers at each end of the link. Tlie cable will be able to handle up to 80 simultaneous telephone conversations, and any telephone circuit can be

replaced by as many as 222 teleprinter circuits. It will also carry telegraph traffic, leased circuits for newspapers, airlines, shipping companies and other commercial undertakings, and high quality transmissions of music, broadcasting and pictures. The cable has been laid on the Pacific seabed for nearly i 9000 miles, in places nearly I four miles deep. Australia, New Zealand and I Fiji, are linked with each I other and Canada by the cable. The system continues i with microwave links across Canada, and the trans-Atlan-tic cable to Britain and Europe. Dramatic developments in deep-sea cable systems in recent years have meant a sharp drop in cost from £l5O a mile in 1956 to about £2l a mile now—and possibly as little as £4 10s by 1966. On this basis, experts say, communications satellites will be unable to compete on a commercial basis for 10 years.

Labour In Lead

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, Nov. 29.

Labour maintains its lead in public support over the Conservatives, according to a public opinion poll published today by the “Daily Telegraph.” The poll gives Labour an 111 per cent margin over the Conservatives. British voters in the poll, a ked which party they would support if there was a General Election tomorrow, answered: Conservative 38 per cent, Labour 49} per cent, Liberal 12 per cent, others } per cent.