TELEPHONE SYSTEM

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1932, Page 7

TELEPHONE SYSTEM

DEVELOPMENT DURING PAST YEAR WORK CONSIDERABLY REDUCED. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Development of New Zealand’s telephone and radio system during 1931-32 is briefly referred to in the Public Works statement presented to-day. The further extension of the longdistance telephone network within the Dominion was temporarily suspended, and in the meantime attention had been directed to investigational work designed to provide additional carrier-current telephone channels over the existing Cook Strait telegraph cables. The prevailing economic depression had had the effect of retarding to some extent the development of the local telephone exchange systems throughout the Dominion. The falling-off in subscribers had, however, not been appreciable, and it was expected that the reconnection of those subscribers who had relinquished their telephones would be one of the first indications of a return to prosperity. Owing to the fact that new subscribers to the telephone system had not been forthcoming as freely as heretofore, the expenditure of capital in extending telephone-exchange plant had been proportionately reduced. The working of the department’s radio stations had proceeded smoothly during the year; but, in view of the necessity for restricting expenditure aS much as possible, there had been little work of a developmental nature undertaken. Additional aerials for short-wave working to the Pacific islands had been erected at Wellington Radio with a view to making greater use of directive transmission. At the Mount Crawford (Wellington) radio-telephone receiving-sta-tion the temporary receiving apparatus previously in use had been replaced by new apparatus designed to give the highest possible grade of service. This equipment was specially designed to eliminate interfering noises of all descriptions, with a consequent improvement in the clarity of the received speech.