§ Mr. Dayasked the Postmaster-General what is the estimated number of miles of overhead telephone wires that remain to be replaced by underground trunk telephone cables; and when is it expected this conversion will be completed?
§ Sir W. WomersleyOnly 103,000 miles out of a total of 2,300,000 miles of trunk telephone wires, or less than 5 per cent., are overhead. While it is the policy of the Post Office to provide telephone communications by underground cables in preference to overhead wires wherever financial considerations permit, there are many instances in which connections with rural communities over widely scattered areas cannot be provided economically other than by the use of overhead wires.