OCR Text |
Show Growth In Year's Report Announced bv M.S.T. & T. Confidence in the growth of the Utah area was evidenced in the construction program of the Moun-taain Moun-taain States Telephone and Telegraph Tele-graph Company in 1956. More than 18,500 telephones were added, which is next to the largest in. crease in any one year in the Company's Com-pany's history. There are now 270,000 telephones in service in Utah according to Eric C. Aaberg, Vice President and General Manager. Man-ager. Expenditures, for new construction con-struction and service improvements, improve-ments, of over $12 million were necessary in 1956 to keep pace with the continually expanding requirements. To further improve customer service and meet anticipated antici-pated growth, this years program calls for an outlay of about $14 million. Among the new buildings constructed con-structed last year to accommodate (Continued on Tage 6) Mt. States Tele. (Continued from Page 1) dial switching equipment was the large building addition completed in Holladay. A major addition to the present telephone building at First South and State Streets in Salt Lake City is well underway. This addition when completed and fully equipped will cost in the neighborhood of $5 million. The improved quality of telephone tele-phone service has increased the demand, de-mand, and more and more skilled employees have been needed to operate the business. With its 3400 men and women The Mountain Moun-tain States Telephone Company is one of the four largest employers em-ployers in Utah. The 1956 annual payroll exceeded $12 '3 million which is more than 32 times greater than ten years ago in 1946. Immediately after Congressional Congression-al approval was given the Colo-rada Colo-rada River Project, telephone engineers en-gineers began planning to provide telephone service to the dam site in Glen Canyon. The initial job involving in-volving the building of a pole line over a distance of 80 miles, through rough terrain, was completed com-pleted in October of last year. The year 1956 witnessed many new developments in comunica-tions comunica-tions including the birth of the picture phone in the Bell Laboratories. Labora-tories. This device permits one to see a picture of the person he is talking with. It is now being successfully used on an experimental experi-mental connection between San Francisco and New York. The picture travels over a second pair of telephone wires that interconnect intercon-nect the cameras with the corresponding cor-responding screens near the respective respec-tive telephones. A specially designed telephone that could be turned on or off with the tip of the tongue was installed in the home of Douglas Vowles at 626 - 5th Avenue, in Salt Lake City. He is paralyzed from the neck down. Mr. Vowles earns his living by selling insurance. He lies flat on his back, but is still able to contact his clients by calling call-ing on the telephone. Although he is unable to write, a record of his calls is kept on a recorder that works in conjunction with his telephone. Mr. Aaberg said that there are many new developments ahead in the industry. "People want convenient, con-venient, complete telephone service. We not only hope to meet their demands but also to anticipate antici-pate their requirements. The progress pro-gress of the business depends on reasonable earnings. Inflation and high costs are still with us and earnings must be adequate to attract at-tract the additional money we need to continue our expansion program." |