HC Deb 13 July 1966 vol 731 c1450
27. Mr. Costain

asked the Postmaster-General what is the average time taken to get a call between the London toll exchange and Australia.

Mr. Joseph Slater

Straightforward calls to the large towns in Australia can be dialled direct by the London International Exchange operator and are usually connected in less than 15 minutes from the time of the request. Extra delay can occur for various reasons such as congestion within the Australian network or difficulty in locating the called person, but these are outside our direct control.

Mr. Costain

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this is an excellent service which I use very much and which merits greater publicity? Can he explain how in my personal experience I have never failed to get through to Australia in three minutes while it takes 15 minutes to get through to Sevenoaks, and that the quickest way to get through to my daughter in Sevenoaks is to ring my son in Australia to ring her?

Mr. Slater

I think that it would be most advisable for the hon. Gentleman to get through to Australia and back to Sevenoaks.