Telecom's disappearing act

I WAS very surprised to discover that Hongkong Telecom has quietly and without explanation to its subscribers, cancelled its on-line telephone directory service.

Why is the company making it increasingly difficult to obtain telephone directory information? First, Hongkong Telecom decided to cease production of residential telephone directories in 1993. Now, it has cancelled the on-line searching capability of the telephone directory which has been in-service at least for the last six years, when I have subscribed to it. Surely in this, the information age, Hongkong Telecom should be expanding the volume of the information available to the public, not making access more difficult.

The telephone directory service currently available to the public on 1081 allows the search of up to three telephone numbers per call, but the accuracy of the operators leaves a lot to be desired. This frustrated user awaits a reply from Hongkong Telecom.

PAUL BROMBERG Central