§ 4. Mr. John Leeasked the Postmaster-General if he will arrange for telephone box machinery to be manufactured in such a way as to ensure that the voice of the answering user is audible long enough for the identification of his number before the pay tone pips begin to operate.
§ Mr. Joseph SlaterNo, Sir. As such an arrangement would allow short 436 messages to be passed without payment, the STD coin box was designed so that pay-tone began as soon as practicable after the called person lifted his receiver.
§ Mr. LeeIs my hon. Friend aware that this is most unsatisfactory? It really is most infuriating to make a call, to have a person lift the receiver at the other end, and then find that before one can decide whether one has the right number the pips start to drown that person's voice. Numerous wrong calls are made, which means that the Post Office gets a lot of revenue which it does not deserve.
§ Mr. SlaterMy hon. Friend is wrong in assuming that the Post Office is getting a lot of money to which it is not entitled. The length of time before the pay-tone is connected varies because of the different characteristics of the line and equipment in various call boxes. As far as possible the pay-tone is connected as soon as the called person answers. This is done to prevent abuse.