§ Commander BELLAIRSasked the Postmaster-General whether an invention has yet been forthcoming of a reliable system of checking telephone calls so that no call can be registered until the person 275W called has taken off his receiver, presuming that the number asked for is correctly called by the telephone office?
§ Mr. PEASESeveral systems having the feature mentioned have been devised and investigated. None of them, however, has, so far, proved satisfactory from the combined standpoints of reliability and cost.
§ Mr. R. RICHARDSONasked the Postmaster-General whether he has received an application for a licence to operate the telephone service from the Government of the Isle of Man; and what answer he has given to this application?
§ Mr. PEASEThe Government of the Isle of Man has decided not to apply for a licence to operate the telephone service in the island.
§ Viscount CURZONasked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been drawn to the remarks of the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce upon official telephonic eavesdropping; under what conditions this takes place; and whether steps can be taken to stop it?
§ Mr. PEASEMy attention has been drawn to this matter. It is the practice to record the number asked for in certain cases in connection with a disputed fee account, but listening in is only resorted to, either at the request of or by agreement with the subscriber, when the subscriber requires evidence of the unauthorised use of his telephone.