Rural automatic telephone networks

THE communication problems of rural areas offer an unique opportunity for the application of automatic switching methods. In no other situation is the combination of factors so favorable. Automatic exchanges are particularly suited to rural needs, especially when they are installed as unattended units in connection with nearby attended exchanges. The principal benefit springs from the fact that in a small manual exchange the number of operators cannot be adjusted to take care efficiently of the maximum traffic, because too often there is not enough traffic to occupy the time of even one operator. The low traffic factor in rural areas therefore results in a twofold handicap — a handicap which only automatic equipment has been able to remedy. Experience has shown first that it is the infrequency of calls in an exchange, rather than high traffic, that makes the operator inattentive, and often causes delay in putting through calls. Service being the essence of all telephone facilities, this is a condition which cries aloud for a remedy.