PERTH phone users have become the first in Australia to try a new-look White Pages format that puts all business listings at the front of the book.
The new-look phone books will not be released in the eastern states until next July.
The separation of business and residential listings in the 2001-02 edition is designed to make the directory easier to use.
About 850,000 of them will be delivered to households and businesses in the next few weeks.
Pacific Access manager contact solutions Stephen Harvy said separating the business listings was a common practice around the world.
Pacific Access is the wholly owned Telstra subsidiary that manages the print and Internet versions of the White Pages and Yellow Pages directories.
“We’ve done some research with groups to test the useability of the new format and the results have been positive,” Mr Harvy said.
“We’ll also be assessing how the Perth market takes to the new format.
“People using the White Pages know who they’re looking for and know if it will be a business or residential listing.”
He said the Perth White Pages was one of the most used phone directories in Australia.
“Our research shows 79 per cent of the adult population used it in the past seven days. And on 56 per cent of those occasions they where looking for business listings,” Mr Harvy said.
He said the White Pages main competitors were other Telstra products, such as directory assistance and its own Yellow Pages.
“Sometimes local councils and community groups put together directories but these are at a much more local level,” Mr Harvy said.
Every business is entitled to a standard listing in the White Pages. The revenue for the publication is driven by the “enhanced” listings businesses choose to adopt, such as logo placements or bold listings.
