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Story: Telecommunications

Telephone subscribers

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At first the number of telephones rose rapidly, virtually doubling every five years until 1915. Growth in numbers then slowed, particularly during the world wars, and in the 1930s depression, when numbers dropped slightly. After the Second World War growth sped up.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Statistics New Zealand

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How to cite this page

A. C. Wilson, Telecommunications – Phones, faxes and satellites, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/22018/telephone-subscribers (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by A. C. Wilson, published 13 April 2010, updated 1 April 2022.