Post_Office_1965-1966 — Page 21

Hong Kong to Singapore and Malaysia rose by 72.8% within four weeks of its inauguration.

93. During the year under review, Cable and Wireless Ltd. also carried out improvement in their existing services, provided new facili- ties and extended working schedules to meet growing demands.

Telex

94. To cope with the increase of traffic, two direct circuits-Hong Kong/Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong/Colombo-were set up. New services were instituted with Port Moresby, Curacao, Ivory Coast, American Samoa, Bahamas, Bahrain and Gibraltar. The number of channels was increased on Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and London circuits. Sixty-two new subscribers were connected for international service.

International Telephone

95. New services were instituted with Israel, Libya, Greece, Papua, New Guinea, Brunei, Angola, Cape Verde Islands, Mozambique, Principe, Azores, Madeira, Portuguese Guinea and St. Thome. Work- ing schedules with respect to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, U.S.A., U.K. and Europe were extended to 24 hours a day.

Telegraph and Phototelegraph

96. Direct telegraph circuits were established with Cebu (Philippines), Kuala Lumpur and Jesselton. A phototelegraph service was opened with Paris.

Leased Circuits

97. These are mostly telegraph channels for international communi- cation, to be used exclusively by the hirers. They are much more economic than Telex and public telegraph in terms of transmission time available. During the year under review, a number of such channels were leased between Hong Kong and Japan, between Hong Kong and Singapore and between Hong Kong and other Far Eastern countries. When SEACOM Stage II is opened for service, more channels will be available for this purpose, and it is anticipated that increased exchange of telegraph correspondence with increased speed and facility will con- tribute to the advancement of the Colony's international trade.

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