Stars Without Number: effort cost for maintaining connect with friends

Question

Can a level 2 telepath maintain a connection with multiple "allies" for free (no effort committed)? Does he need to spend effort to communicate with them through that link?

Reading the two sections below leads me to believe it does not cost effort.

Facile Mind Level-1

The telepath is practiced at opening a Telepathic Contact, and need only Commit Effort for the scene to do so, instead of Committing Effort for the day. If contacting an ally who has practiced the process with the psychic for at least a week, opening the contact normally requires no Effort at all. In both cases, if the telepath chooses to Commit Effort for the day, they can open a Telepathic Contact as an Instant action rather than a Main Action.

Transmit Thought Level-1

The telepath can send thoughts and images over a Telepathic Contact, allowing two-way communication with a willing target as an Instant action when desired.

Answer 1

Normally it costs effort, but practicing with your allies for a week when you have facile mind can avoid that

You can have multiple telepathic connects at the same time. The rules for telepathy state (p. 40):

Opening a contact requires the telepath to Commit Effort for the day as a Main Action, and the contact lasts for a scene at most unless augmented by other techniques.

So what requires effort is opening the connection and normally this commits your effort for the whole day. Communicating through the connection does not cost further effort, but as your effort is already committed for the entire duration, the communication normally is not "free".

The effort rules say

Effort is “Committed” to fuel a psionic power. Some Commitment is relatively short-term, lasting only as long as the power is in effect. Other powers require that the Effort be Committed for the full scene, while the most powerful might require it be Committed for the rest of the day. Once the Commitment period is over, the Effort returns to the psychic. All Effort is refreshed after a good night’s rest.

Only if you have learned the Facile Mind technique, and you have practiced establishing contact with your ally already for at least a week, you can initiate contact without committing effort. If you have done that for all your allies, you can initiate contact with all of them without needing to commit effort, and can have open telepathic channels with all of them.

If contacting an ally who has practiced the process with the psychic for at least a week, opening the contact normally requires no Effort at all.