§ 15. Mr. Masonasked the Postmaster-General what progress is being made in the inauguration of subscriber trunk dialling; and whether he is satisfied that his target for 1960 will be achieved.
§ Mr. BevinsThree centres now have S.T.D. and two more will have it in the next few weeks. I hope that we shall generally achieve our target of 40 places by the end of 1960. Since the 1957 White Paper the long-term programme has been speeded up so that 60 per cent. of users will have S.T.D. within five years and 90 per cent. within ten years.
§ Mr. MasonIn view of this rapid development of S.T.D., will the right hon. Gentleman agree that as we are to have a cheaper service with greater efficiency because of subscriber trunk dialling, it is absolutely necessary at this stage to have more advertisements to try to attract more people to use the telephone?
§ Mr. BevinsYes, Sir. That is one of many matters that I am examining.