Inquiry into faulty phones

Press, 2 December 1989, Page 11

Inquiry into faulty phones

By

SUSAN COOK

Telecom is investigating a Telepermit-approved telephone after complaints by some owners that their models don’t dial properly. The Everyday Phone 1010, one of a series supplied by Alcatel STC, was thought to suffer from intermittent wiring faults in the handset or cord, said a Telecom spokeswoman, Ms Ariane Burgess.

She said the fault, which prevented a call from connecting with the exchange, was not in the telephone’s dialling mechanism.

A Christchurch man, who experienced such difficulties for nine months until his 1010 model telephone was replaced, said that about 50 per cent of his calls did not go through.

He said a Telecom engineer had told him the fault was caused by the dialling tone being to short and not giving the exchange enough time to “read” the call. If the re-dial button was pushed the call would immediately be put through, he said.

The Everyday Phone 1010 complied in all respects with the Telepermit dialling specifications, said Ms Burgess. The 1010 model, which includes features such as a re-dial button, but unlike the more sophisticated 1200 model has no abbreviated dialling system, is in widespread use throughout New Zealand. Of the 160,000 model 1010 telephones in New Zealand, 59,000 are in the South Island.