Govt pledges $220M for rural telephones

Press, 3 June 1981, Page 23

Govt pledges $220M for rural telephones

PA Dunedin The Government would spend about $220 million over the next 10 years improving telephone services to rural areas; said the Post-master-General (Mr Cooper) in Dunedin. Mr Cooper said that the Government acknowledged some aspects of rural telephone services were unsatisfactory, and although improving the system would be expensive, the Government was trying to do that. “Whereas urban services cost about ,$l2OO a sub; ' scriber, rural reticulation is twice that and can be as high as $lO,OOO for a family living 15 km from the exchange,” he said. ; “Inevitably a difference ■ has developed in the quality

of service available to rural people, compared with that available to city dwellers.” Mr Cooper said that in the 1979-80 year 10 per cent ~of telecommunications capital development was spent on rural work, while last year that rose to about 25 per cent. The present programme has budgeted for 33 per cent development to go to rural areas. “Over the whole country it is estimated that some $220 million would be needed to convert manual exchanges to automatic, to reduce partyline loadings, to replace fault-prone cables, and fb complete the coverage of free-calling areas,” Mr Cooper said.