RADIO’S BUSY DAY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19732, 10 September 1938, Page 8

RADIO’S BUSY DAY

NINETEEN CALLS HANDLED ’PHONINd OVERSEAS New Zealand’s telephone system though extensive, is not limited to the Dominion, the radio-telephone enabling subscribers to communicate promptly with hundreds of thousands of other telephone users in the United Kingdom, Australia, and on the Continent of Europe. This overseas telephone business of the New Zealand Post Office continues to grow in importance, and there was one busy day last month when 19 calls were handled, 12 originating in New Zealand. These came from widely distributed points, including Wellington-Melbourne, Dun-edin-Sydncy, Wellington-Sydney, Ro-lorua-Mclbourne, Auckland-London, VVellington-Newcastle, N.S.W., Auck-land-Bournemouth, Auckland-London, Balclutha-Alexandra (Scotland), and New Plymouth-Glasgow. Good Conditions.

In every case the conversations were carried out at the time nominated by the New Zealand subscriber, and the conditions were uniformly good, this being due not only to the satisfactory state of the "radio atmosphere” but to the efficiency of the land lines in each country.

The direct touch possible through the radio-telephone presents an advantage which the recently cheapened cable rates and the attractive Empire air-mail scheme has not diminished. There were 1725 of these overseas conversations in 1937, and this year the business is above the average of that period.

Radio-telephoning across the Tasman received a stimulus towards the end of July, when the rate was reduced to 30s for a three-minute conversation. The result was quickly apparent, 210 calls being handled last month compared with 101 in August, 1937.