Telephone Regulations (Amendment) (Cth)

STATUTORY RULES.

1915. No. 270.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE POST AND TELEGRAPH ACT 1901–1913.

(Issued provisionally as Statutory Rules 1915, No. 167.)

I, SIR ARTHUR STANLEY, Governor of the State of Victoria and its Dependencies, in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting as the Deputy of the Governor-General, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the under-mentioned amended Regulations under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901–1913, to come into operation forthwith.

Dated this thirty-first day of December, One thousand nine hundred and fifteen.

A. L. STANLEY,

Deputy of the Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

WILLIAM WEBSTER,

Postmaster-General.

 

Amendment of the Telephone Regulations 1913.

(Statutory Rules 1913, No. 349).

1. (1) Regulation 5, as amended by Statutory Rules 1914 No. 163, is repealed, and the following Regulation is inserted in its stead:—

“5. (1) Except where otherwise provided by these Regulations, all telephone lines, instruments, and fittings in connexion with the telephone system shall be erected and supplied by the Postmaster-General, the cost being borne by the Government, and no persons, except employees of the Department, provided with proper means of identification, are to be allowed to interfere with or make any additions or alterations to any wires, instruments, or fittings under the Department’s control. In the event of any such interference, the subscriber concerned will be liable to have his line disconnected.

(2) The following shall be the charges payable for each of the different classes of service specified:—

Exchanges or Networks with Subscribers’ Lines connected as shown hereunder—		Radius of Network with main Exchange as centre.	Annual ground rent, within 2-mile radius.
			For an exclusive service.			For each Subscriber or Instrument on a two-party service.			For each Subscriber or Instrument on a three or more party service.
Miles.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.
From	1 to 300......................	5	3	0	0	2	10	0	2	0	0
„	301 to 600.................	5	3	5	0	2	10	0	2	0	0
„	601 to 1,500..............	5	3	10	0	2	15	0	2	5	0
„	1,501 to 4,000...........	10	3	15	0	3	0	0	2	10	0
4,001	and upwards..............	10	4	0	0	3	0	0	2	10	0

C.17980.—Price 3d.

Provided that when the number of subscribers to an Exchange or network increases or diminishes to such an extent as to give rise to a higher or a lower rental, as the case may be, such higher or lower rental shall not be charged until the expiration of one year from the end of the month in which the increase or diminution in the number of subscribers takes place.

Mileage shall be calculated radially from the Telephone Exchange with which the line is connected as the centre.

In all cases where submarine cables or other special arrangements are required in the construction of a line, the charges shall be fixed according to circumstances.

For the foregoing charges, the Postmaster-General will provide and maintain all necessary exchange equipment, subscriber’s line not exceeding two miles in length radially, and one telephone wall set per subscriber.

For each effective call originating from a subscriber’s instrument, the charge shall be One Penny.

No charge will be made to the subscriber for calls received by him.

The calls made over each line will be charged for separately.

Calls made on the business of the Postmaster-General by any duly authorized officer will not be charged.

(3) Accounts for calls will be rendered half-yearly, and must be paid within fourteen days*. A statement of account, certified by a responsible officer of the Department as being correct, shall be accepted, as primâ facie evidence of the number of effective calls originated by the subscriber.

Statements of the number of calls recorded against a subscriber for a month will, upon the subscriber’s request, be furnished at the following charges:—

Statements showing monthly total, Sixpence per statement.

Statements showing daily totals for a month, One Shilling per statement.

Statements showing details of trunk line calls recorded against a subscriber will, upon the subscriber’s request, be furnished at the following charges:—

Statements showing details of trunk line calls for a half year, in the case of subscribers who are not depositors (see Regulation 52), One Shilling per statement.

Statements showing details of trunk line calls for one month in the case of depositors, Two Shillings per statement.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-regulation (1) of this Regulation, the charges for ground rent specified in that sub-regulation: shall not apply to services in operation at the commencement of this Regulation, until the following dates:—

(a) as regards subscribers under an agreement, which is in force at such commencement, to rent for a period certain—

(i) the expiration of that period, if the expiration is subsequent; to the 10th December, 1915; or

* See also Regulation 14

 

(ii) if the expiration is prior to or on that date, the first day of the period in respect of which the first account for rent rendered subsequent to the 10th December, 1915, is rendered;

(b) as regards other subscribers—the first day of the period in respect of which the first account for rent rendered subsequent to the 10th December, 1915, is rendered.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-regulation (1) of this Regulation, the charges for calls shall not, until the tenth day of December, 1915, apply to services in operation at the commencement of this Regulation.

2. Sub-regulations (1) and (4) of Regulation 47, as amended by Statutory Rules 1915, No. 56, are repealed as from the tenth day of December, 1915, and the following sub-regulations are inserted in their stead as from that date:—

“(1) Subject to this Regulation, the fee for the use of a public telephone shall be uniformly Two Pence for a conversation of three minutes, or part of three minutes, whether the call be made by a subscriber or a non-subscriber.”

“(4) The fee prescribed in this Regulation shall be paid for the use of any public telephone situated within ten miles radially from the Central Telephone Exchange in the case of Telephone Exchanges or Networks having over 1,500 subscribers’ lines connected within a radius of ten miles from the Central Telephone Exchange, or situated within five miles in the case of other Exchanges or networks.

3. Sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 50 is repealed as from the tenth day of December, 1915, and the following sub-regulation is inserted in its stead as from that date:—

“(1) Junction lines are those lines which join one Telephone Exchange having not less than 15 subscribers’ lines connected with another similar Exchange, and which junction lines do not extend beyond ten miles radially from the Central Telephone Exchange in the case of Telephone Exchanges or Networks having over 1,500 subscribers’ lines connected within a radius of ten miles from the Central Telephone Exchange nor five miles in the case of other Exchanges or Networks.

4. Sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 70 is repealed as from the tenth day of December, 1915, and the following sub-regulation is inserted in its stead as from that date:—

“(1) Private Telephone Lines (special single wire and instruments not connected directly with any Exchange) may be provided and maintained between private houses, offices, warehouses, mines, factories, or other places on payment of the following rates annually in advance for a term of not less than three years, and subject to the same general conditions as those which apply to lines to the Telephone Exchange—

If within a radius of ten miles from the Post Office, in the case of cities or towns where there are Exchanges or Networks having over 1,500 subscribers’ lines connected within that area—

For each quarter-mile or fraction thereof of actual length of wire....................... 10s.

 

In other places—

(a) Wire erected on existing poles—For each quarter mile or fraction thereof of actual length of wire, for such portion of the line.............. 7s. 6d. per annum

(b) Where poles are not available—For each quarter-mile or fraction thereof on which poles have to be erected.............................................. £1 per annum

(c) Where, in any quarter-mile of line, portion of the wire is on new poles and portion on existing poles, only one charge, namely, One Pound per annum, is to be made for such quarter-mile.”

 

Printed and Published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by Albert J. Mullett, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.