CHEAPER TOLL SERVICE

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1934, Page 7

CHEAPER TOLL SERVICE

TELEPHONE CHARGES LESS IMPROVED SERVICE TO BE GIVEN. IMPORTANT CHANGES DECIDED INTRODUCTION OF NOVEL IDEAS.> (Government Memo.) Invercargill, Last Night. New low rates for telephone toll calls during certain hours were announced by the Postmaster-General, the Hon. A. Hamilton, to-day. Like the British Post Office, the Minister said, .the New Zealand Post Office was reducing charges for calls during the hours that the toll lines could carry more traffic. Following on the extension last month of the evening half-rate period,' which now commences at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m., substantially reduced charges, quarter-rates and less, .will apply from December 1 to . calls .made between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.. For calls between any two places in the North Island or between any two places in the South Island, the maximum' charge for a threeminute call between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. will be Is, while for calls from any place in the North Island to any place in the South Island, or vice versa, the charge will not exceed Is 6d, an exceptionally small fee for a three-minute talk over 1000 miles. Last, month the half-rate period was altered to commence on Sundays and holidays at 5 p.m. From December 1 half-rates will apply all day on Sundays and holidays except when quar-ter-rates are applicable. The Minister said that the reductions would cost a considerable sum in revenue, but they were in keeping with the policy of not requiring the user to pay more than it cost to provide the service. The toll service had been showing a profit, and it was the desire of the Government to return aS much as was practicable of that profit to the users. TELEPHONING OF TELEGRAMS. Telegrams telephoned to the telegraph office for transmission, or from the telegraph to the addressee, will rio longer cost 3d extra. In future any telephone subscriber may dictate his telegram to the telegraph office over the. telephone without paying anything additional. The telegram charge will be included in the toll account. This change will be welcomed by the public generally, and more particularly by the business firms and residents in the suburban areas. Hitherto when “tolls” has been unable to obtain the attention of the called subscriber at a distant exchange, the caller has been charged one-third of the initial rate, with a minimum of 4d. From December 1 the “no reply” fee will be reduced to one-quarter the initial rate, with a minimum of 3d. Moreover, considerably more work will be undertaken for the lesser amount. Frequent attempts will be made to secure a response from the distant subscriber, and only after all reasonable attempts have failed will the “no reply” fee be charged. At present a special cable fee of 3d is added to the cost of all inter-island toll calls irrespective of whether the calls are handled during the full or a reduced rate period. From December 1 this fee will be proportionately reduced during the half and quarter-rate periods. At present when a local telephone call is made at a- country post office where a slot telephone is riot installed a charge of 4d.' is' made. In future this charge will be Id, as in the case of a call from a slot telephone. NEW SERVICES PLANNED. In addition to the alterations which he had outlined and which would take effect from December 1, the Minister said that the following new services were being introduced on January 1:— Although the practice of making charges payable forward is not uncommon in the commercial; world and has been in vogue for many years in regard to telegrams, it is an innovation as far as toll calls are concerned. The “collect” toll service will enable the charge for a toll call to he booked to the called party. The consent of the called party to the charge being made “collect” will be obtained by the telephone exchange before the call is put through. A small additional charge will be made. This facility will be of assistance to business firms that are prepared to pay the cost of telephoned orders from customers. When a subscriber wishes to make a toll call from other than his own telephone it is not always convenient to have the call booked to the telephone from which it is made, or to pay the cost of the call at the time. This disability will be overcome by permitting a subscriber to ask that the cost of the call be charged to his own telephone. “Appointment” calls are those which a subscriber may book beforehand to take place at a certain time. The telephone exchange will call' the distant subscriber and make the appointment with him.. CONTRACT SERVICES. A subscriber may ask that his telephone be linked up with another in a distant town at a particular hour each day under a standing order. Many business people Will appreciate being able to arrange a standing appointment to speak to a distant associate at a certain time each day. They will be certain of getting through at the appointed time and of getting their party when they do get through. During certain periods of the day when toll traffic is light the telephone lines may be used by “contract” callers at a specially reduced rate, subject to a minimum aggregate period of five hours being contracted for. “Contract” calls may be made on consecutive days at a charge between 8 am. and 6 p.m. of ordinary rates, less 33 1-3 per cent., and between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. of half or quarter rates less 20 per cent., a case indeed of buying telephone service cheaply in bulk. The Minister concluded with the remark that it was hoped the public would respond to the department’s efforts to make the telephone ever more popular and of greater use. Compared with other countries, New Zealand was well to the fore in its distance telephone service, both in regard to variety of services and in regard to charges.

The telephone was already one of the most popular services that the department had to offer. In fact, it was the extent to which the public had patronised the telephone service that had made it possible to introduce new services and to adopt low charges.