Car phones

Press, 13 December 1989, Page 20

Car phones

Sir,—The introduction of car phones is leading to considerable interference with ordinary subscribers. It has not been made sufficiently clear that a caller wishing to speak to someone with a car phone must first dial a prefix, 025, before dialling the rest of the number. Telecom is uninterested in making this fact public, expressing the view that it is up to the car phone subscriber to tell its callers of this necessity. Perhaps if this is aired in the newspaper it will benefit the unwilling recipients of wrong numbers, as well as the holders of car phones. — Yours, etc.,

E. W. HILL. . November 27, 1989.

[The marketing manager, Telecom Cellular, Ltd, Mr Jamie Macdonald, replies: “The Telecom Cellular network is an entirely separate network from the normal fixed telephone network. Access from any telecommunication network to another requires the use of the appropriate access or STD code. In the case of the cellular network, a caller from a fixed phone uses the code 025. This information has been made public through publicity material prepared since the introduction of the cellular mobile phone service in New Zealand in 1987, and has been published progressively in all telephone directories as they have been reprinted. The 1989 edition of the Christchurch Telephone Directory has the information in a sub-section headed “Mobile phones” in the general information section on page 30. There is also information on page 6 under the heading “Making a call.” Telecom certainly is interested in making this information available and has taken practicable steps to ensure that it is. All cellular phone users also know that, in order to receive calls from fixed

phones or from overseas, callers have to prefix the cellular number with 025 and it is common practice to advertise this code in brackets before the pellular number. As more and more people become familiar with the cellular service, I am sure that the concerns expressed by your correspondent will be overcome.”]