TO LONDON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 27

TO LONDON.

WIRELESS TELEPHONE. SERVICE (NEARLY READY. * (FBOJI ,OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.) SYDNEY, Dccetpbcr 12. The commercial wireless telephone service from Sydney and Melbourne to London will'be opened for traffic any day now; it only awaits the word of the technical" experts of the Commonwealth Postal Department to say that the organisation is ready. Experimental conversations arc taking place almost daily, and they have been very successful. However, it has been found that delicate adjustments are necessary, and these are receiving attention from the officials of the department and' the experts of Amalgamated Wireless. All the staff, apparatus, and organisation ard ready as far as the department is concerned. The. first official call will be between the Prime Minister of Australia and the Prime Minister of England.

It is hoped that the system will be in full swing in time to allow the people of £he two countries to exchange Christmas greetings , by. wireless. People in Sydney and Melbourne will have to use a special box, that will be provided at the post offices. Any private subscriber in London may be called. The extension of the system to the network of telephones in both Melbourne and Sydney should be accomplished early next year. Then any telephone subscriber while at home will be able to telephone to any telephone subscriber m England. It has been held that it would be better to wait until the system could bo completed at this end before inaugurating the system, hut the department holds that advantage should be taken of the opportuuity to provide a limited service. Those who desire to telephone to London, it is thought, will not object to going to the City Post Office for the purpose. *

Subject to confirmation the price of commercial calls from Sydney to London will be £0 for three minutes’ conversation, the same as for the London-New lork service, which is operating continuously. The next stage will be the of a permanent extended wireless service whereby any subscriber in any part of Australia will be able to telephone any subscriber in any part of England. In a recent lecture the Director of Postal Services in Australia said that one of the possibilities of the near future was wireless telephone services between people in all parts of the world.

On this point it was recently asked why there seemed to be no thought of a telephone service between New Zealand and Australia. It is held that if a wireless service can be established between Australia and England it would be simpler still to provide a service between Australia and New Zealand. The fact that nothing ha,s been done emphasises the lack of co-operation between flic two dominions, which' are supposed to have so much in common. The disregard of the two Governments mj a te°i7 an ° tLer is 311 unexplained