COMMUNICATIONS

The place to make cheap long distance phone calls is the post office (pošta) where one is directed to a booth and charged at the end of the call. Post Offices are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on workdays, on Saturdays to 3 p.m.

Many hotels have direct dial telephone facilities, some of them offer additional services: fax, internet, secretarial services. Check the unit charge as telephone charges can vary greatly.

In the central areas of all towns there are phone booths. A card (“Halo kartica”) can be purchased in post offices or at some tobacconists/kiosks. There are 200, 300 and 500 Dinar cards. If calling locally the cheapest one will do just fine for several days.

Stamps can be purchased in post offices and at some newspaper kiosks. The postal service can be highly erratic and should not be relied upon. If you need something to arrive safely, it is advisable to use a western courier service.

Foreign newspapers can be found only in the largest of cities. Large bookstores (such as “Plato” in Belgrade) usually have available daily newspapers in several languages. English language broadcasting can be heard from the BBC World Service on short wave – 6195 kHz at morning, 12095 daytime and 9410 in the evenings. The Voice of America is broadcast on 9760 and 6040 kHz. Satellite and broadband cable TV is fast becoming a normal feature.

Internet cafés can be found in almost all of the cities. The usual charge is about 1 Euro per hour. In Belgrade and several more cities, one can find (mostly cafés) a wireless internet connection. An internet access number without an account and settings, charged via the telephone bill is 041-910-910 (username: 041, password: net).

There are two mobile-phone operators “Telenor” (numbers beginning with 063 and 062) and “Telekom” (064 and 065). Phone numbers can be purchased relatively easily at the branches of these companies at the cost of 5 to 10 Euros.