TELEPHONE EXPANSION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18322, 12 February 1923, Page 9

TELEPHONE EXPANSION.

LINKING THE DOMINION.

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES.

UTILISATION OF WIRELESS.

fBY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CHRISTCHURCH. Saturday.

"I hope that some day, I will not say whether it will be soon or not, the whole of New Zealand will be connected by telephone," said Mr. E. A. Shnmpton, chief telegraph engineer, at the close of his conference with the Canterbury Progress League's special committee on telephone charges.

"From Auckland to the Bluff?" asked one of the committer.

"Yes," said Mr. Shrimpton. "There would be communication across Cook Strait in one of two ways. If it were by cable the cost would be at least £100,000 for the cable itself, and about £50,000 more for the trunk lines to Christchurch, but ho would not say that it could not be done by wireless. "I know people will say that a wireless telephone message is aiv'oue's property," he added, "but such rapid developments are taking place now that I believe it will be most difficult for amateurs who have to work on a very short wavelength to tap Government messages. To do so will require very elaborate and expensive apparatus,, and even then it will not be easy. Indeed, I think that wireless telephone services may soon be just as secret as communication by wire. ■ "A listener might hear one side of a conversation, but he would have to alter tho tune of his receiving set to get the replies. That would mean that he would miss all short replies such as 'yes' ■ and 'no.' They would be gone before he could catch them." >

"Yes, he would have to keep tuning back and forth," said a member of the committee. "He would be likely to miss Ihe first few words whenever each person started to speak." • f As showing how wireless had developed in recent years Mr. Shrimpton mentioned that when the Anglo-American airship disaster occurred at Hull ho picked up with the receiving set in his own house a message, giving an account of the occurrence and' the names of those killed and injured. This was fully 15 Hours before anything appeared in the New Zealand newspapers