Telephone
The international dialing code for the Czech Republic is +420 followed by the whole number. In September 2002 regional prefixes became part of telephone numbers and all numbers became nine-digit, all of which must be dialed even if calling within the same town. Mobile phone use is comparable to anywhere in Europe, and there is now one handset for every person in the country. The mobile networks are operated by Eurotel, T-Mobile and Oskar.
Television
The foursome of CT1, CT2, Nova and Prima constitute the Czech Republic’s selection of terrestrial television stations. CT1 and CT2 are state owned and funded from license fees. CT1 broadcasts a mixed bag of general-interest programming, news, current affairs and sport. CT2 is not dissimilar to BBC2 in Britain broadcasting highbrow culture, foreign films and sport. Nova is a commercial channel which beams out recycled US series dubbed in Czech, blockbuster films and tabloid-style news.
The foursome of CT1, CT2, Nova and Prima constitute the Czech Republic’s selection of terrestrial television stations. CT1 and CT2 are state owned and funded from license fees. CT1 broadcasts a mixed bag of general-interest programming, news, current affairs and sport. CT2 is not dissimilar to BBC2 in Britain broadcasting highbrow culture, foreign films and sport. Nova is a commercial channel which beams out recycled US series dubbed in Czech, blockbuster films and tabloid-style news.
Although the Czechs were sluggish to get on the World Wide Web, they have now caught up, with an estimated million internet users and widespread public access. Even small towns have several internet cafes and many of the larger hotels provide internet connection. Tourist information centers sometimes have a couple of PCs for public use. Charges everywhere usually work out at 1Kc per minute, but the may be a minimum charge of 15-30Kc.
Post
The Czechs have as reliable a postal service as you will find anywhere in Europe. Look out for a black horn on a bright yellow background, in every town and village across the country. Local post offices are used for a range of transactions such as paying bills and collecting benefits. Tourists usually just want to send a few postcards. All posts sent abroad goes by airmail. Letters and postcards generally take three to five days to reach anywhere in Europe and a week to North America.
