Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1918-12-31
S. N. E. TELEPHONE co.
TO INCREASE RATES

Announcement is made by The
Southern New England Telephone
Company that as result of large and
repeated increases in the costs of "a
Dor and material it finally becomes
necessary to make a general increase
in its. exchange service rates through
cut the state. The rate changed. eff
fGctfve January LIST, apply to all eX-
change service furnished on fiat rate
basis and represent in general an. in
crease of % cents a month for resi-
dence telephones and so cents a month
for business telephones. In explain
ing the necessity for this increase,
the company points out that it's pre-
war rates have been continued for
substantial period during which the
rates and prices Tor othar services
and commodities have been material
ly advanced and states that the
amount of revenue resulting from the
rate increase will, in fact, be some
what less than the amount of wage
increases that have been accorded to
employees during the last six months
The new scale OF rates was ap-
proved on December 2fst by the post
master general under whose control
the telephone business in Connecticut,
as elsewhere. has been operated since
August l, 1t is not expected that the
increase will in all cases be permanent
since the present exigencies in the
telephone business. as in other bust
resS, are regarded as abnormal. 1t
has always been the policy of the
company and it is the announced pol
icy of the postmaster general to mod
ify and stanaardize rates whenever
possible through reduced costs of OPP
Grafton. and it is believed that OPP
portunity for the exercise of this pol
icy will in some measure be afforded
i'll the future as it has been afforded
in the past.
Coupled with the above announce
lnent is the further news that Begin
I, ming January list telephone bills will
| cover exchange service for one month
only. This represents a departure
| from the lopg established custom OF
rendering bills for three months SER
| vice and is expected to be welcome ID
| by the public as conforming with reg
| u'ar commercial practice and as sim
| plifying the checking and payment OF
Hills. The bills of January list wfll,-o1
! course, include toll charges for the
! three months period ended December
| 18th but subsequent bills will carry
toll charges fer one month only.
AS already announced by the post.
| master general, the charges for in.
| stallins new telephones and for chang.
| ing the loca ton of existing telephone.
| have h&en materially reduced. TIL.
| former charges were five, ten or fiji
teen dollars. according 10 the rat,
paid for the telephone service itself
but the present charge eeIher for in
Sailing or. moving telephone is on1,
| $3.50, regardless of TIA rate paid TO
| the service. This reduction is il
keeping with the order of the post
master general modifying the restric
| tons on service extensions imposed
because of the war and will prove t
be helpful factor in the future de
velopment of the business.
The effect in Connecticut of the re
Gently announced order covering tn
Standardization of toll rates as O
January 21st cannot be fully stated a
this time as the new rates have no
yet been computed. On the one hant
the new rates. which are based upo
a system of fixed mileage charges, wi
occasion substantial increases betwee
long haul points as the present to-
rate schedule in Connecticut is uniqu
in providing a MAXIMUM rate of 2
cents between any two points With
the state, but as the traffic is natural
light between long haul peints thes
increases will mean less to the publ
and to the business than would ap
pear at first thought. On the othe
hand, there are many points in Con
nectieut, Approximately twenty mile
apart, where the present rate is ais
% cents and where reductions wi
take place under the new schedui
Between these points, the traf1c
relatively high and the rate change
will carry more meaning than thos
between LONG haul points lBetwee
The very short haul points, both in
creases and decreases will be occa
stoned, the new schedule providing
rate of cents in cases where the a
line distance does not exceed 81
miles. Full announcement Of the ne
rates as applied between Cennectiel
exchanges will be made prior to Jar
uary 21st.