§ 7. Mr. Emlyn Hoosonasked the Postmaster General if he is aware of the charges, sometimes amounting to between £100 and £200, being asked by the telephone department for connecting houses and farms in rural areas to the telephone service; and what steps he is taking to make the telephone service available in rural areas at a reasonable cost.
Mr. SlaterThe charge may be high in individual cases, but it only arises if special construction is needed beyond 3 miles from the subscriber's exchange. £200 is a special case of someone 8 miles from his exchange with 5 miles of construction work. Even then the charge is only a fraction of actual expenditure. I do not feel we can go further at present.