Country Information

Country Code: . The General Post Office (GPO) offers public telephones for national and international calls. There are also card phone booths available. Lao Telecome Numphu Centre in Vientiane is useful for making international calls, domestic calls and sending faxes.

Roaming agreements exist with a few international mobile phone companies. Check with your service provider. Coverage is sporadic and mainly, though not exclusively, situated around Vientiane. It's better and cheaper to arrives to Laos with your mobile phone unlocked and then to buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card. Look for Tigo and M-phone top-up cards.

Internet cafes are located in the major towns and are becoming increasingly common in places frequented by backpackers. High-speed connection is only available in places such as Vientiane and Luang Prabang. In Vientiane the best streets to head to for fast internet connection and internet cafes with Skype and air-conditioning are Th Samsenthai and Th Setthathriat. Expect to pay around 7000K an hour for broadband. Wi-Fi is increasingly available in many Western orientated bars and cafes

The Lao media is basically a tool of the government, which owns all of the country's newspapers and broadcast media. Newspapers are not widely read. The widest read English-language newspaper is the Vientiane Times. Le Rénovateur, started in 1998, is the only French-language newspaper in the Lao PDR (Laos). It is published weekly by an agency of the Ministry of Information and Culture and the French Cultural Centre of Vientiane corrects the articles written by Laotian journalists. The Lao-language daily is the Vientiane Mai. All newspapers are state run. You will be able to pick up copies of Newsweek, Time, The Economist and The Bangkok Post in the capital. Lao National TV (TVNL) and Laos Television 3, a joint venture with a Thai company, are the main TV channels. Lao National Radio is the national radio station - it was founded in 1960, before becoming a national broadcaster in 1975.

The General Post Office (GPO) is beside the Morning Market in Vientiane. Normal postal service is inexpensive and generally reliable although it can take around two weeks to and from Western countries. A courier service is recommended for urgent or valuable mail.

Mon-Fri 0800-1700, Sat-Sun 0800-1200.