Toll dialling on Saturday

Press, 17 November 1976, Page 2

Toll dialling on Saturday

Saturday is D-Day for tele-, phone subscribers. From midnight on Friday! the new telephone direct-] jories will come into use, and isubscribers connected to the Christchurch central, Avonihead, and Rolleston exjchanges, may make their iown toll calls to about half I the 700-odd exchanges in I New Zealand.

Red booklets have been ! issued to the subscribers who will be connected to the automatic toll dialling system, explaining the use of : the new system, which will be available to many other ; Christchurch telephone subscribers by the end of the [year. By the end of next year all but 3000 Christchurch subscribers will be ■ connected to the system. i Automatic equipment has (been installed to capture call (details for later charging. The information is processed and the account produced by computer. ] There will be no charge if i the subscriber hangs up before dialling the completed inumber or if the dialled number is engaged or there i is no reply. If the subscriber ]calls the wrong number he | will not be charged for the ] first half minute. Toll operators will still be available to handle this type of difficulty. The subscriber should ring the operator (Phone 010) within 10 min-

utes of making the wrong! call. The toll operators will! also be available for con-; i netting tolls in the normal! way and for person-to-per-son, collect, and other services. As an example, to make an automatic call from Christchurch to Blenheim, a subscriber connected to the new system should take the following steps: ! Find the distant sub-; scriber's telephone number! (call directory service if ini doubt). Find the automatic code' ifor Blenheim (57) in the red I booklet issued by the Post] Office. Dial “0" to obtain an automatic circuit, then immediately dial the code and the subscriber's number.