Telex Will Provide Faster Telegraph Service In N.Z.

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30325, 28 December 1963, Page 8

Telex Will Provide Faster Telegraph Service In N.Z.

Tie expansion and complexity of modern business have brought about an urgent need for a faster and more convenient form of telegraph service. In many countries this need is being met by telex. By mid-1964 New Zealand, too, will have an automatic telex service, says the “Post Office Magazine.” “Telex” operates in much the same way as the telephone service but, instead of speaking to one another by telephone, subscribers exchange written messages. The service will be available 24 hours a day and incoming messages both from within New Zealand and from oversees will be received on the teleprinter even though it is unattended.

Received messages are printed in black, but a copy of all outgoing messages is made by the teleprinter and these are printed in red to avoid confusion.

Each subscriber is provided with a complete installation, comprising a teleprinter, a control unit, and a matching table.

Adjacent to the teleprinter is the subscriber’s control unit. In spite of its internal complexity, it is fitted with simple controls for use by the operator. The dial is mounted on the front panel of the control unit which also contains buttons that are pressed by the operator to obtain an exchange line, to clear down after the completion of a call or to seize and reset the machine when it is desired to type a local copy of a message without sending it via the circuit to the exchange.

Also cm the control panel are two small indicator lamps (one red and one green). These light in turn depending upon how the teleprinter is being used. The teleprinter is connected by a pair of wires to an automatic exchange where, in response to the number dialled by the operator, calls are automatically switched to any other subscriber, to the telegraph office for sending telegrams, or to the international exchange which arranges calls to overseas subscribers. It is the usual practice for the office typist to be in charge of the machine for messages are sent by means of a keyboard very similar to a typewriter keyboard. This is easily mastered by a reasonably competent typist. A telex directory will be supplied to each subscriber and this will tell the operator what she needs to know about the operation of her machine.

It will also contain the listing of all the subscribers connected to the inland system. To place a call within New Zealand the operator first ascertains the wanted number, presses the dial button on the control unit until the green lamp glows. The wanted number can now be dialled and the answer-back code of the called subscriber is returned automatically when the call is connected. (The answer-back code ensures that connexion has been made to the correct number.) The operator then depresses the “here is” key which will cause her own answerback code to be automatically sent out, thus identifying herself to the called subscriber.

Typing of the messages can then proceed and when it is concluded the clear button is depressed and this clears down the call and stops the charging meter which has been automatically timing the duration of the call. Overseas calls will be lodged through an international telex exchange at Auckland.

The charges for calls to overseas countries vary depending upon the country to which a message is bein g sent. In accordance with international practice overseas calls are subject to a threeminute minimum charge. Within New Zealand, however, calls will be charged

for at a flat rate regardless of distance and only the time actually used will be charged for. Automatic meters will register the duration of inland calls and these will be charged for at the rate of 3d for each 10 seconds’ duration which is equivalent to Is 6d a minute. In one minute the teleprinter is capable of transmitting 66 words so that quite long messages may be exchanged relatively cheaply. In addition to call charges subscribers will pay a rental for their equipment. For a standard installation this will be £l6O a year. Although the New Zealand automatic telex system will not be brought into operation until about the middle of 1964, there are already sufficient applications for the service to indicate it will be well received by New Zealand businessmen.

If the experience of many overseas countries can be taken as a guide, rapid expansion of the New Zealand service can be expected. The number of United Kingdom subscribers is now more than 8000 while in Western Germany the total exceeds 38,000.

In Australia, which has had a manual system but is now converting to an automatic system, the number of subscribers has grown from 100 in 1955 to 1300 now, and further substantial growth is forecast.