TELEPHONE CHARGES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16074, 10 March 1923, Page 8

TELEPHONE CHARGES.

BASE AREA SYSTEM

P AND T. DEPARTMENT SECRK-1 TARY IN GISBORNE. |

The’, new base area system in con nee- j tion with the revised l scheme of charges for telephones was mentioned) by a Heralct representative to day to Mr A. T. Markman, secretory of the P. pud T. Department, wlm arrived' in Gisborne; to-day, accompanying the PostpmsterGencral, Hon. ,1. G. Coates. Mr. Mark- ' man statofj that the extent of the hose ! areas for the various towns could not be announced until the proposal put for- j ward by lion. J. U. Coates was finally accepted 1 . Then the-"announcement of * die base areas would lie an easy matter, j For Gisborne, for instance, it could be] t alien that, Did base area, the wm j within which the flat rate charges of £8 j arnfi £l3 for private, and business tok- | phocies respectively would apply, would I be from 2A to 3 miles from the PoO | Office. Under the new system, it would] not be calculated upon the radius,basis, j but would: follow the telephonic popular j tion of the town. Tn this way the f charges would 1 be move equitable than : under the radius method, and! (he new j scheme would prnhitbly have the effect of j increasing the charges upon subscribers ; in Sparsely- populated areas though , corn- j paratively close to town, and 1 reducing the charges for some of those in areas where the number of telephones would testify their inclusion in the base areas. However, at present nothing more definite could be stated, but when ho met. j the representatives of the subscribers, • business and-' private, at. the meeting 1 which was arranged', be boned to Doable to produce a plan showing the wav in whirb it was proposed' to- lay, out the base area for Gisborne. Mr Markman is engaged unon a tour fpr the purpose of addressing meetings and gathering information to bo considered 1 bv the Government before the. new scheme is - finally fldVwted. j