TELEPHONE SERVICE.

Waikato Times, Volume 100, Issue 16814, 4 June 1926, Page 7

TELEPHONE SERVICE.

£750,000 FOR EXTENSIONS DEFINITE PROGRAMME. SUBMARINE ’PHONE CABLE. (Times’ Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. Tho New Zealand loan of £0,000,000. which lias just been successfully floated in London, includes £750,000 for telegraph extension. Although designated as “telegraph extension,” Iho money is to be mostly expended on telephones. Telegraph and telephone expenditures are grouped together, but actually about 90 to 95 per cent, of the money is absorbed in extending the telephone sendee, as to all intents and purposes the actual work of running wires to different parts of the country for purely telegraphic purposes is complete. At the present time the Post and Telegraphic Department is working to a definite annual programme of telephone extension, and is concentrating on completing the more important works first. Wellington and Auckland have now been converted to the automatic telephone system, and it is expected that it will be possible to switch over completely to tho automatic in Dunedin in about six months. Automatic telephones arc also being installed in Christchurch, but there is a good deal of underground cable work yet to be done, and it is not possible to say liow soon it will be possible to complete the change-over there.

The recently-laid Cook Strait cable, which affords telephone facilities between Wellington and Marlborough and Nelson is being made fair use of, but it is hoped that business firms will make even greater use of this service, which is now being extended to meet the needs of people in districts as far from Wellington as Palmerston North. Later nn, or course, it will be possible to communicate between any parts of the North Island and Hie Soulli Island, and very shortly a commencement will be made with the line between Blenheim and Chrlslohurch, an important link m the extended system.

It is also stated that tenders will be called shortly to replace the wireless mast on Tinakori Hills, blown down during the recent heavy northerly gale. Americans, as well as British and other firms will have the right of tendering, but Hie British tenderers will have whatever advantages arc io ho had from the preferential tariff. The cost of the mast blown down was about £2OOO, which was over £3OO cheaper than the lowest British lender, and was erected by an American firm.