Wren House International DQ attempted to keep telephone directories for every country outside Europe.

Republic of Kiribati - Urban Tarawa 1980-81 - This example, rescued from the DQ on its closure in 1983, consists of a mere 28 type-written pages of which only 8 list private numbers. Most of the book is taken up by government numbers, Police etc, even extension numbers: Typist (Commissioner of Police) Extension 33.

The preface makes interesting reading too. "The telephone system is now so large that our operators cannot remember all names and numbers and are often too busy to look them up for you."

The price of international calls to other than nearby islands was $4.50 a minute.