§ Mr. K. Thompsonasked the Assistant Postmaster-General to what extent the Post Office is undertaking development work in the field of electronic switching equipment for telephone exchanges.
§ Mr. GammansThere has been considerable progress in the design of this entirely new type of telephone switching equipment, as a result of research work at the Post Office Station at Dollis Hill. The aim is to provide telephone exchanges operated entirely by electronic means instead of by the present type of electromechanical switch. The electronic apparatus has no moving parts, is almost instantaneous in operation, and may eventually prove more economic in first costs as well as maintenance.
The immediate outcome of the work at Dollis Hill is an experimental installation of six electronic directors, which have recently been installed in the Richmond Telephone Exchange. (A director, which handles half a million calls a year, is the part of the exchange which steers the individual calls to the exchanges required.) This new installation probably represents the first instance in the world of the use of a fully electronic item of switching equipment in a public telephone exchange. The new apparatus will be closely watched by Post Office engineers in order to see how it works under the heavy pressure of traffic within the London system.
I am sure that the House will note with satisfaction that this very promising development arises out of the independent research work at the Post Office Station at Dollis Hill, and that this country is in the front line of development in this new field. There are many research 26W problems and practical difficulties still to be overcome, and it will be some years before the basic electronic design can be developed as a complete switching system available for manufacture and for installation in new exchanges.