Worldwide use of telegrams by country

This is a list of telegram services by country.

Country Service available Year service ended Comments
 Algeria Yes – Algérie Poste offers electronic telegram services under the name Barki@tic.
 Argentina Yes – Correo Argentino still offers telegram service within Argentina and to international destinations.
 Aruba Yes – Post Aruba still offers telegram service.
 Australia No 2011 Australia Post closed its telegram service on 7 March 2011.
 Austria Yes – telegramm.at offers telegram service.
 Azerbaijan Yes – Telegrams can be sent at offices of Azərpoçt.
 Bahrain Yes – Batelco still offers telegram service. Telegrams are sent for deaths or important occasions as they are thought to be more formal than email or fax, but less so than a letter.
 Belarus Yes – Beltelecom offers a service for the transmission of telegrams within the country and around the world. "Ordinary" and "urgent", "certified" and "government" telegrams can be sent to any address in Belarus and other countries.[1] There is also a service for sending Lux (=LX) (on a greeting card) and Deluxe (=LXDEUIL) (funeral card) telegrams to Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Telegrams in Belarus are delivered within 2–24 hours.
 Belgium No 2017 Proximus discontinued telegram service on 29 December 2017.[2] It sent 63,000 telegrams in 2010,[3] which declined to 8,000 in 2017.
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes – Hrvatska pošta Mostar, BH Pošta, and Pošte Srpske offer telegram services.
 Brazil Yes – Correios still offers telegram service, only within the country. Telegrams can be sent from any post office, by telephone and by the Internet.[4]
 Bulgaria No 2005 Vivacom stopped offering deliverance of telegrams in 2005, although Bulgarian Posts since 2006 offers "Telemail", which allows the sending of short text messages, graphic documents, and hand-written messages to a fax or teletype machine on Vivacom's network.
 Canada Yes – Telegrams Canada still offers telegram service. AT&T Canada (previously CNCP Telecommunications) had discontinued its telegram service in 2001 and later became MTS Allstream.
 China Yes – As of 2024, China Telecom and China Unicom still offers public telegram sending from Beijing and Hangzhou to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhejiang, Hefei and Shandong[5].
 Colombia Yes – As of 2015, 4-72 still offered telegram service.
 Costa Rica Yes – Correos de Costa Rica still offers telegram service.
 Croatia Yes – Hrvatska pošta still offers telegram service. Telegrams may be sent via the Internet, telephone or fax, and are optionally deliverable by telephone or fax. Illustrated and musical telegrams are available for special occasions.[6]
 Cuba Yes – Correos de Cuba [es] still offers telegram service.
 Czech Republic No 2010 Česká pošta discontinued the service in 2010, because it was too expensive to maintain and only 756 telegrams were sent in 2009.[7]
 Estonia No 2012 Eesti Post discontinued the telegram service in 2012.[8]
 Finland No 2001 Suomen Posti discontinued its international telegram service in January 2001. One can still send domestic messages that look like old-fashioned telegrams but are delivered as ordinary mail or e-mail.
 France No 2018 Orange S.A. closed its telegram service on 30 April 2018.
 Germany No 2022 Deutsche Post offered telegram service until 31 December 2022, delivering telegrams the next day as ordinary mail. Deutsche Telekom discontinued service to foreign countries on 31 December 2000.[9][10]
 Hungary No 2021 Magyar Posta closed its telegram service on 29 April 2021[11]
 Greece No 2019 OTE, the former state owned telecommunications provider closed the telegram service in March 2019.
 Iceland No 2018 Íslandspóstur discontinued its telegram service on 1 October 2018. The first telegram in Iceland was sent in 1906 to Seyðisfjörður from the Faroe Islands.[12]
 India No 2013 BSNL discontinued telegram service on 15 July 2013.[13] Telegrams to foreign countries had been discontinued in May 2013.[14]
 Indonesia No 2010 Pos Indonesia discontinued telegram service in 2010.[15]
 Iran Yes – Telecommunication Infrastructure Company of I.R.Iran still offers telegram service.[16]
 Ireland No 2002 Eircom discontinued telegram service on 30 July 2002.[17]
 Israel Yes – Israel Postal Company still offers telegram service. Telegrams may be sent via the Internet or by a telephone operator. Illustrated telegrams are available for special occasions.[18]
 Italy Yes – Poste Italiane still offers telegram service. Around 12.5 million telegrams were sent annually as of 2010.[19]
 Japan Yes – NTT and KDDI still offer telegram service. Telegrams are used mainly for special occasions such as weddings, funerals, graduations, etc.[20] Local offices offer telegrams printed on special decorated paper and envelopes.
 Jordan Yes – Jordan Post Company still offers telegram service.
 Kuwait Yes – The Ministry of Communications maintains a local and international telegram service. A form must be filled out, and along with a copy of one's civil ID, must be delivered in person.
 Lithuania No 2007 Teo LT discontinued telegram service on 15 October 2007.[21]
 Latvia Yes – Latvijas pasts offers telegram service transmitted with a special computer network between post offices.
 Malaysia No 2012 Telekom Malaysia discontinued telegram service on 1 July 2012.[22]
 Mauritius Yes – Mauritius Post maintains a domestic telegram service.
 Myanmar Yes – As of 2014, MPT still offers a domestic telegram service.
 Mexico Yes – Telmex still offers telegram service as a low-cost service for people who cannot afford or do not have access to e-mail, under the name of 'telegraficos telegrama'.[23]
 Monaco Yes – The Monaco Post Office still offers telegram service according the website of the Monaco Public Service.
 Montenegro Yes – Pošta Crne Gore still offers telegram service.
   Nepal No 2009 Nepal Telecom discontinued telegram service on 1 January 2009.[24]
 Netherlands Yes – KPN sold its telegram service to the Swiss-based company Unitel Telegram Services in 2001.
 New Zealand No 2003-2023 New Zealand Post discontinued telegram service in 1999. It later reinstated the service in 2003 for use only by business customers, primarily for debt collection or other important business notices.[citation needed] Sometime between 2003 and 2023 this service was likely discontinued as the post office makes no mention of the service as of 2023.
 Panama Yes – Correos Panamá still offers telegram service.
 Pakistan No 2006 Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd discontinued telegram service on 27 January 2006.[25]
 Philippines No 2013 The government's Telecommunications Office or Tanggapan ng Telekomunikasyon discontinued telegram service on 20 September 2013. The last telegram was sent on that day at 3:15 PM.[26]
 Poland No 2018 telegramy.pl offers an online telegram service, delivering telegrams the next day as ordinary mail. Poczta Polska closed its telegram service on 1 October 2018.
 Portugal Yes – CTT Correios de Portugal, S.A. and Altice Portugal still offer telegram services in continental Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira. Normal telegrams are delivered the next day, and urgent telegrams are delivered the same day if handed in before 3pm.[27]
 Romania No 2004 Poșta Română discontinued its telegram service in 2004 replacing it with a e-Post service.
 Russia Yes – Central Telegraph (subsidiary of national operator Rostelecom) still offers telegram service. "Regular" or "Urgent" telegrams can be sent to any address in Russia and other countries. So called "Stylish" telegrams printed on artistic postcards are also available.
 San Marino Yes – Poste San Marino offers telegram service.
 Serbia Yes – JP Pošta Srbije Beograd, the state-owned post, still offers telegram service. It is commonly used to express condolences, official notifications of death or to congratulate anniversaries, births, graduations, etc. Telegrams may be sent by using a special telephone number or directly at the post office. Telegrams are delivered on the same day for recipients in territories covered by post offices with telegram delivery service and are delivered as regular mail for post offices which do not have telegram delivery service. In internal traffic, the length of messages is limited to 800 characters and is charged at a flat rate while in international traffic telegrams are charged by the word. International delivery is possible for recipients in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia.[28][29]
 Slovakia No 2007 The Slovak Post discontinued telegram service on 1 January 2007.
 Slovenia Yes – Pošta Slovenije d.o.o. (Slovenian Post) still provides telegram service commonly used for special occasions such as births, anniversaries, condolences, graduations, etc. It is considered more formal than email or SMS. Telegrams are usually printed in a typewriter font on greeting or condolences cards delivered in a specific yellow envelope. It is also possible to send gifts (e.g. chocolates, wine, plush toys, flowers) together with a message. The telegrams can be sent from local post offices, over the phone or online to addresses in Slovenia only.[30]
 South Africa Yes – Network Telex offer e-telegram service via its chain of E-tel Express storefronts. Telegrams can be sent within South Africa and internationally.
 South Korea No 2023 KT Corporation ended their telegram service in December 2023.
 Spain Yes – Correos, the state-owned postal service, provides telegraph service for both domestic and international destinations. SEUR (a DPD company) still offers telegram service.
 Sri Lanka No 2013 Sri Lanka Post stopped its telegram service after 157 years on 30 September 2013, although still offers "Telemail" and "e-Telemail", where customers can deliver an urgent message at the counter or online, respectively, "which is then promptly forwarded to the destination office via direct telephone and delivered to the recipient within two hours."
 Sweden No 2002 Telia discontinued telegram service in 2002.[31]
  Switzerland Yes – Unitel Telegram Services took over telegram service from the national PTTs. Telegrams can still be sent to and from most countries.
 Thailand No 2008 Thailand Post discontinued telegram service on 30 April 2008, at 20.00 local time.
 Turkey Yes – PTT has been providing telegram service in Turkey since 1855.
 Ukraine No 2018 Ukrtelecom discontinued telegram service on 1 March 2018.
 United Kingdom No 1982 After 1982, British Telecom maintained a telemessage service to replace telegrams. This service was sold to the Swiss-based company Unitel Telegram Services as Telegrams Online in 2003.[32][33]
 United States Yes – iTelegram start telegram service in United States soon after Western Union closed its telegram service in 27 January 2006. Telegrams can be sent via their web site.[34][35][36][37]
 Uruguay Yes – Antel, the state-owned postal service, provides telegraph service for both domestic and international destinations.[38]
 Vatican City Yes – Poste e Filatelia Città del Vaticano provides telegram services to and from the Vatican City State (including the Holy See).[39]

References

  1. ^ "Телеграф | Белтелеком".
  2. ^ Proximus: Proximus ends the telegram after over 150 years of good, loyal service.
  3. ^ "63.000 telegrammen verstuurd in 2010", De Standaard, 16 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Saiba mais - Nacional". Correios (in Brazilian Portuguese). Correios. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  5. ^ "你用过电报吗？杭州最后一台电报机报修，他也许是最后一个电报人". tidenews.com.cn. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Brzojav". posta.hr (in Croatian). Hrvatska pošta. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Telegramy na České poště po 160 letech končí". Česká pošta. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  8. ^ Aotäht, Aivar (25 May 2017). "Vanasti populaarne telegramm elab edasi vaid mälestustes". DIGAR Eesti artiklid (in Estonian). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  9. ^ Tariftip.de (2 September 2000). "Deutsche Telekom stellt Auslands-Telegramme ein" (in German). Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  10. ^ Heise online (1 September 2000). "Internet und Handys bereiten Auslandstelegrammen den Garaus" (in German). Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  11. ^ "174 év után megszűnik a távirat" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Rúmlega 100 ára saga skeytasendinga á enda". October 2018.
  13. ^ "End of an era: BSNL to shut telegraph services from 15 July". Firstpost India. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  14. ^ "BSNL decides to discontinue 160-year-old telegram service". The Times of India. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Telegram Riwayatmu Kini". 18 June 2012.
  16. ^ سرویس تلکس|شرکت ارتباطات زیرساخت. (Persian). Visited on 13 March 2015 at 7:11:21 PM UTC. Permanent Link. Translation to English by Google Translate.
  17. ^ Details of Eircom Services
  18. ^ www.israelpost.co.il
  19. ^ D’Amico, Paola (28 July 2010). "Il postino non suona più il sabato". Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
  20. ^ R25編集部 (21 April 2008). 【コラム】 メール全盛の現代なのに..."電報"が生き残るワケとは?. R25.jp – gooニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 25 April 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Nebeliks telegramų paslaugos - Ekonomika - Klaipėda". Klaipeda.diena.lt. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  22. ^ "The last telegram - Editorial". New Straits Times. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  23. ^ "Telecomunicaciones de México". telecomm.net.mx.
  24. ^ "Telecom Notices". ntc.net.np.
  25. ^ Dilawar Hussain (15 July 2013). "Indian telegram service – end of a memorable era". dawn.com.
  26. ^ "END OF AN ERA|The last telegram sent in the Philippines" 5 October 2013
  27. ^ "Serviços de proximidade nas Lojas CTT".
  28. ^ "Telegram - Srbija". Javno preduzeće "Pošta Srbije" Beograd. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Telegram - Inostranstvo". Javno preduzeće "Pošta Srbije" Beograd. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  30. ^ "Pošta Slovenije - Obvestilo". posta.si.
  31. ^ Edling, Lotta (28 February 2002). "Telia lägger ned telegramverksamheten". Affärsvärlden. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  32. ^ "Edward Prince of Wales visits London's telegram boys", The Telegraph, 9 June 2017, archived 4 March 2019.
  33. ^ "Unitel Telegram Services; Efficiency in Telegraphy". www.uniteltelegram.com. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  34. ^ NPR (2 February 2006). "NPR: Western Union sends its last telegram".
  35. ^ "International Telegram - Answers to some common questions". Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  36. ^ "Early telecom tapped out history". The Denver Post. 1 February 2006. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  37. ^ Campbell, Morgan (18 June 2013). "Toronto firm Telegrams Canada still wires 20,000 messages a year". The Star. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  38. ^ "Telegramas". antel.com.uy. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Postal Services - Services and Rates". Vatican City State. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2024.