TELEPHONE CHARGES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 89, 12 October 1923, Page 6

TELEPHONE CHARGES

THE LOWEST IN THE WORLD

SOME FACTS BY MR. SHEIMPTON

t»X TSLMRAPH. —SPECIAL 10 TH« tOtTl DUNEDIN, This Day. In a chat with a "Star" reporter yesterday, Mr. E. A. Shrimpton, Chief Telegraph Engineer, discussed various matters in connection with the telephone service. Touching on the increased charges which had brought such a storm of criticism upon the Department, Mr. Shrimpton said that he had seen a great deal about the increases, but those loudest in their condemnation seemed to have overlooked the fact that very substantial reductions had also been made. For instance, subscribers* over the two-mile radius were now charged only £8 10s against £12, or up to £16 under the old scale. As far as town subscribers were concerned, it aIBO must not be forgotten that the rates were the lowest in the world. In Australia the charges were double, and it cost 2d for each connection. As a comparison of the Australian and the New Zealand rates, Mr. Shrimpton said that a Wellington business man recently showed him his account for his office and residential connection, which, amounted to £24 12s. He then produced a bill for £49 3s, which had been charged him in Adelaide for exactly the same time and period. Begarding the new rates on table telephones, Mr. Shrimpton said that the Department was more than justified in increasing the charges for their use, as to begin with, they cost 50 per cent, more to install, and were 200 per cent, more costly to maintain than the wall variety. They were also more liable to damage, and the large cords, which cost 18s each, also proved a,.costly item. In New York the extra charge for table telephones worked out at 25s pur annum.

Regarding the argument that had been adduced to the effect that subscribers in the larger centres were being charged extra in order that those in smaller places could have their telephones at cheaper rates, Mr. Shrimpton said that it had to be remembered that a business man in Dunedin had a ! range of about 5000 subscribers, whilst a subscriber in Oamaru, for instance, tad a range of only 600. He also emphasised that the economic iixiom that the bigger the return the Ims the price applied to everything buy ioJ9phour.'s. and said that if subscriber.* increase! four times the cost would be sixteen times greater. The switchboard .arrangement for 200 subscribers was a very simple matter, but with 5000 it was a very different thing, as thirty or fortjr places had to be provided whero a call could be received and answered. The large cities had also an eriormons speaking range, and Dunedin could pet into telephonic communication with most places in the South Island.