SUBSCRIBER TRUNK DIALLING

HL Deb 30 November 1961 vol 235 cc1299-300WA

THE EARL OF HARROWBY

asked Her Majesty's Government

Whether it is a technically indispensable factor for the boon of direct dialling to have seven figure codes for local exchanges, followed by three or four figures for the subscriber needed, thus running into figures several times greater than the combined population of the whole world to-day, bearing in mind the great risk of human error in dialling a long sequence of ten or eleven figures.

LORD ST. OSWALD

As Subscriber Trunk Dialling is introduced, these long codes will gradually be replaced by codes consisting of three letters and three figures, which should be easier to use. As things are, the present arrangement is the best that can be devised. Most dialled calls to nearby exchanges are made by means of two or three figure codes, but in order to extend the range, facilities are also provided for dialling through intermediate exchanges to more distant ones. Two or more figures may be needed to route the call through each intermediate exchange, and the full range can sometimes be reached only by codes of seven figures.

House adjourned at fourteen minutes before eight o'clock.