Cordless phone, but strings attached

Press, 2 May 1985, Page 9

Cordless phone, but strings attached

A Christchurch man, after finding that the cordless telephone he bought in Singapore is illegal to use in New Zealand, is still in the dark as to what model he can use.

Mr Gordon Petersen said this week that he paid customs duty on the telephone he brought into New Zealand and yet was unable to use it.

“I bought the phone because I live in a large house and I am not as mobile as I used to be,” he said. “The phone would have been ideal for me because I can’t walk quickly from the garden or one end of the house to the other to answer the standard phone. “No* objections were raiseooy customs officials when I showed them my cordless phone. So I thought that the telephone model I had must be okay to use in this country and I was happy to pay the duty on it.”

However, the Post Office has informed Mr Petersen that he cannot have his cordless telephone installed. “I was told that my telephone was not an approved model even though the Post Office has apparently imported models for its own use. Now the Post Office refuses to tell me what model of cordless telephone is acceptable and so I can’t even buy the right model next time I am overseas.

“They told me that they don’t tell anyone what model is acceptable, including the Customs Department. I have made every effort to import and install my telephone legally — all to no avail.” The Collector of Customs in Christchurch. Mr R. G.

Allison, said recently that the Customs Department included a warning in its customs guide for travellers about importing transmitting equipment. This warning emphasises that some overseas transmitting equipment, while not prohibited as imports, may not comply with New Zealand Post Office licensing conditions. “If you intend to import any such equipment it is advisable to first check with the radio inspection branch of the New Zealand Post Office,” the warning says. The Post Office has yet to approve a cordless telephone model for use in New Zealand. The Assistant DirectorGeneral of Post Office Telecommunications, Mr Derek Rose, said in Wellington yesterday that the Post Office had been searching for a suitable model for the New Zealand market in the last three years.

“We think we have found a suitable cordless telephone model,” he said. “Our network is different from networks overseas and we have to be very careful to have special adaptions on a model for it to be suitable. “It is hoped we will have an approved model within the next few months. Until then we can only reply to anyone wanting to know what the approved cordless telephone model is that we have yet to decide on a suitable model.” Once that decision was made, the Post Office would make the Customs Department aware of the approved model. The regional engineer of the Post Office in Christ-

church, Mr Jim Harrison, said recently that there were two main concerns about apparatus connected to the Post Office network.

“First, it should conform to Post Office technical standards so that there is no interference with normal functions of the network,” he said. “Second, it should not create personal hazards or inconvenience to either Post Office personnel or the public. “Unfortunately, much non-Post Office apparatus fails in one or the other way. The Post Office reserves the right to approve all non-Post Office apparatus proposed to be connected.” Cordless telephones used radio signals between the handset and a base unit connected to the telephone line, Mr Harrison said. “The radio frequencies used by many of the cheaper units cause interference problems to other radio users. One of the commonly used frequencies is right in the middle of the band used by Television One. Many readily available base units responded to any handset which used the same frequencies, Mr Harrison said. “This makes it possible for unscrupulous users to walk or drive down the road with their cordless telephone until they pick up a dial tone from someone else’s base unit. “They can then make STD and ISD calls at the expense of the owner of the base unit. This dial-tone stealing has become a big problem in the United States.”