IDD is available. Country code: 40. Public telephones are widely available and can be used for direct international calls. Hotels often impose a high service charge for long-distance calls, but usually do not charge for local calls.

Roaming agreements exist with many international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good around Bucharest but variable elsewhere.

Kappa and PC-Net are two of the largest of the 250-odd ISPs. The former has open-air terminals at Strada Paulescu Nicolae 9, Bucharest, while the latter is at Strada Calderon Jean Louis 1-5, Bucharest. Sweet Internet Cafe, Strada Maria Rosetti 7-9, Bucharest (tel: (21) 212 4111) has 24-hour access, as do a couple others of Bucharest's many Internet cafes.

The media scene is Romania is one of the most dynamic in southeastern Europe. The 1991 constitution upholds freedom of expression, but prohibits 'defamation of the country'. The first private radio stations appeared in 1990; there are now more than 100 of them. State-run Radio Romania operates four national networks and regional and local stations. Romania's newspapers thrived after the 1989 revolution, but many subsequently closed because of rising costs.
State-owned Romania 1 and the private commercial stations Pro TV and Antena 1 command the lion's share of television viewing. There are also many smaller, private TV stations, some of them part of local networks. The state broadcaster, TVR, operates a second national network, TVR 2, and a pan-European satellite channel. Pay TV channels have a smaller audience. There are hundreds of cable distributors offering access to Romanian, European and other stations and many households in Bucharest have cable TV.
Press: English newspapers and publications include Bucharest Business Week, Nine O'Clock (website: www.nineoclock.ro) and Romanian Economic Daily. There are a great number of daily and weekly newspapers published in Romanian, Hungarian and German. Daily papers include Adevarul, Libertatea, Evenimentul Zillei and Romania Libera.
TV: TVR operated Romania 1 and TVR 2. Commercial networks include: Antena 1, Pro TV, Prima TV, Acasa TV and Realitatea TV.
Radio: Radio Romania is state-owned. Commercial networks include: Europa FM, Kiss FM, Pro FM and Radio 21. The BBC World Service is available on FM in the capital.

Airmail to Western Europe takes one week. Post offices are open daily, including Saturday mornings.