188 BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL 



for on the basis of 3-minute units and for each the charge is the same 

 as the initial rate. In the United States, additional use is charged 

 for on a one-minute basis — each minute's charge being about one- 

 third the initial — a finer measure of actual use and one which, par- 

 ticularly at the higher rates, makes long distance telephoning con- 

 siderably less expensive. 



In the United States, the general practice is to allow subscribers to 

 talk as long as they wish except on rare occasions due to emergencies 

 such as storm breaks. In Great Britain, subscribers are notified at 

 the end of 3 minutes and are limited to a maximum use of 6 minutes 

 if other calls are waiting. This difference in the allowable length of 

 long distance telephone conversations has developed out of basic 

 differences in toll service policy as regards the provision of plant and 

 the resultant speed of service. In the United States, we plan to 

 give a very rapid service and we provide toll line plant to meet these 

 needs. This policy seems to best meet the needs and desires of 

 American users and to have been a large factor in the rapid develop- 

 ment of our toll business. As a result, practically all toll and long 

 distance calls are placed at the time when the connection is wanted 

 and subscribers are often impatient if their calls are not completed 

 immediately. In Great Britain, the plan has been to maintain as 

 high efficiency as practicable in toll line plant and this naturally 

 results in a somewhat slower long distance service. British subscribers 

 are accustomed to longer delays than ours in obtaining connections. 

 There is considerable advance booking. Under this condition, the 

 limitation of the talking period, which I have already mentioned, is 

 a practicable means of making the service available to as many users 

 as possible and also of avoiding possible cases of unfair use of the 

 lines by certain individuals to the exclusion of others. This difference 

 in practice regarding the allowable length of conversation is a matter 

 of particular moment in connection with a service like the transatlantic 

 service for the reason that our experience has shown a definite tendency 

 for users to talk for longer periods on the long haul, higher rate busi- 

 ness. This is probably indicative of the greater importance or different 

 nature of this class of telephone communication. Whatever the 

 reason, calls at 250 miles average under 5 minutes, at 500 miles — 

 5| minutes, at 1,000 miles — 6 minutes, and transcontinental calls — 

 6| minutes. 



In Great Britain, distances are relatively short. London-Glasgow, 

 for example, represents one of the important longer haul routes, 

 and the air-line distance is about 350 miles. On international calls, 

 London to Berlin is one of the longer hauls at which service is available 



