P.O. changes may cost $50M

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 4

P.O. changes may cost $50M

PA Wellington Tenders are now being considered for a multi-mil--1 i o n-dollar equipment order that will bring the Post Office's telephone system into the computer age. Although Post Office officials declined to say how much the order was worth, estimates based on similar work in Australia fix the price of replacing the present system at $5O million. The changes involve progressively phasing out the present step-by-step and cross-bar systems and replacing them with electronic stored-programme equipment. The Post Office’s superintending engineer for research and development, Mr J. A. Scurr, said the introduction of the new equipment was likely to take several years. The director of supply (Mr D. Hepworth) said world-wide tenders were called. They closed in

October last year and were now being evaluated. Mr Scurr said the Australian Post Office took two years and a half to make a similar evaluation. He said the electronic equipment would be more flexible when the Post Office was considering new services. As it was also more compact than existing systems. the saying on space would mean that existing exchange buildings could be kept in use longer. One of the first signs of a move towards a computerised telephone system was the agreement reached with the Siemens Company for computercontrolled Telex exchanges in Auckland and Wellington. The Auckland exchange is now being installed, with about 1950 lines, and is expected to be working by the end of the year. A 1300 line counterpart in Wellington will be installed within six months.