Worldwide use of telegrams by country explained

This is a list of telegram services by country.

CountryService availableYear service endedComments
Algérie Poste offers electronic telegram services under the name Barki@tic.
Correo Argentino still offers telegram service within Argentina and to international destinations.
Post Aruba still offers telegram service.
2011Australia Post closed its telegram service on 7 March 2011.
telegramm.at offers telegram service.
Telegrams can be sent at offices of Azərpoçt.
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.
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.
2017Proximus discontinued telegram service on 29 December 2017.[2] It sent 63,000 telegrams in 2010,[3] which declined to 8,000 in 2017.
Hrvatska pošta Mostar, BH Pošta, and Pošte Srpske offer telegram services.
Correios still offers telegram service, only within the country. Telegrams can be sent from any post office, by telephone and by the Internet.[4]
2005Vivacom 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.
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 Telecom and China Unicom still offers public telegram sending to Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi as of 2020. When destination is within 5 km range of city centre in the above area, telegrams are delivered within 24 hours.
As of 2015, 4-72 still offered telegram service.
Correos de Costa Rica still offers telegram service.
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.[5]
Correos de Cuba still offers telegram service.
2010Česká pošta discontinued the service in 2010, because it was too expensive to maintain and only 756 telegrams were sent in 2009.[6]
2012Eesti Post discontinued the telegram service in 2012.[7]
2001Suomen 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.
2018Orange S.A. closed its telegram service on 30 April 2018.
2022Deutsche 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.[8] [9]
2021Magyar Posta closed its telegram service on 29 April 2021[10]
2019OTE, the former state owned telecommunications provider closed the telegram service in March 2019.
2018Íslandspóstur discontinued its telegram service on 1 October 2018. The first telegram in Iceland was sent in 1906 to Seyðisfjörður from the Faroe Islands.[11]
2013BSNL discontinued telegram service on 15 July 2013.[12] Telegrams to foreign countries had been discontinued in May 2013.[13]
2010Pos Indonesia discontinued telegram service in 2010.[14]
Telecommunication Infrastructure Company of I.R.Iran still offers telegram service.[15]
2002Eircom discontinued telegram service on 30 July 2002.[16]
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.[17]
Poste Italiane still offers telegram service. Around 12.5 million telegrams are sent annually.[18]
NTT and KDDI still offer telegram service. Telegrams are used mainly for special occasions such as weddings, funerals, graduations, etc.[19] Local offices offer telegrams printed on special decorated paper and envelopes.
Jordan Post Company still offers telegram service.
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.
2007Teo LT discontinued telegram service on 15 October 2007.[20]
Latvijas pasts offers telegram service transmitted with a special computer network between post offices.
2012Telekom Malaysia discontinued telegram service on 1 July 2012.[21]
Mauritius Post maintains a domestic telegram service.
As of 2014, MPT still offers a domestic telegram service.
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'.[22]
The Monaco Post Office still offers telegram service according the website of the Monaco Public Service.
Pošta Crne Gore still offers telegram service.
2009Nepal Telecom discontinued telegram service on 1 January 2009.[23]
KPN sold its telegram service to the Swiss-based company Unitel Telegram Services in 2001.
2003-2023New 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. Sometime between 2003 and 2023 this service was likely discontinued as the post office makes no mention of the service as of 2023.
Correos Panamá still offers telegram service.
2006Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd discontinued telegram service on 27 January 2006.[24]
2013The 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.[25]
2018telegramy.pl offers an online telegram service, delivering telegrams the next day as ordinary mail. Poczta Polska closed its telegram service on 1 October 2018.
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.[26]
2004Poșta Română discontinued its telegram service in 2004 replacing it with a e-Post service.
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.
Poste San Marino offers telegram service.
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.[27] [28]
2007The Slovak Post discontinued telegram service on 1 January 2007.
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.[29]
E-tel Express and Network telex offer e-telegram service.
2023KT Corporation ended their telegram service in December 2023.
Correos, the state-owned postal service, provides telegraph service for both domestic and international destinations. SEUR (a DPD company) still offers telegram service.
2013Sri 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."
2002Telia discontinued telegram service in 2002.[30]
Unitel Telegram Services took over telegram service from the national PTTs. Telegrams can still be sent to and from most countries.
2008Thailand Post discontinued telegram service on 30 April 2008, at 20.00 local time.
PTT has been providing telegram service in Turkey since 1855.
2018Ukrtelecom discontinued telegram service on 1 March 2018.
1982After 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.[31] [32]
iTelegram took over telegram service from Western Union on 27 January 2006. Telegrams can be sent via the iTelegram web site or via Deskmail, a legacy Windows program.[33] [34] [35]
Antel, the state-owned postal service, provides telegraph service for both domestic and international destinations.[36]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 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. Web site: Saiba mais - Nacional. Correios. Correios. pt-br. 23 July 2022.
  5. Web site: Brzojav. posta.hr. Hrvatska pošta. hr. 19 December 2018.
  6. Web site: Telegramy na České poště po 160 letech končí . Česká pošta . 26 January 2022.
  7. Web site: Aotäht. Aivar. 25 May 2017. Vanasti populaarne telegramm elab edasi vaid mälestustes. 18 November 2021. DIGAR Eesti artiklid. et.
  8. Web site: Deutsche Telekom stellt Auslands-Telegramme ein. 2 September 2000. Tariftip.de. de. 27 April 2010.
  9. Web site: Internet und Handys bereiten Auslandstelegrammen den Garaus. 1 September 2000. Heise online. de. 27 April 2010.
  10. Web site: 174 év után megszűnik a távirat. hu. 30 April 2021.
  11. Web site: Rúmlega 100 ára saga skeytasendinga á enda. October 2018.
  12. Web site: End of an era: BSNL to shut telegraph services from 15 July. Firstpost India. 12 June 2013. 13 June 2013.
  13. News: BSNL decides to discontinue 160-year-old telegram service. https://web.archive.org/web/20130615032137/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-12/india/39924887_1_telegram-telegraph-offices-telecom-employees. dead. 15 June 2013. The Times of India. 12 June 2013. 13 June 2013.
  14. Web site: Telegram Riwayatmu Kini. 18 June 2012.
  15. http://ccp.tic.ir/fa/bazar/telex سرویس تلکس|شرکت ارتباطات زیرساخت
  16. http://telecomweb.com/databases/tarifica/tariffsonline/sample.pdf Details of Eircom Services
  17. http://www.israelpost.co.il/telegrams.nsf/pages/AboutE www.israelpost.co.il
  18. News: D’Amico. Paola. 28 July 2010. Il postino non suona più il sabato. Corriere della Sera. it.
  19. Web site: http://news.goo.ne.jp/article/r25/life/r25-1112008041713.html. ja:【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編集部. 21 April 2008. ja. 15 May 2008. R25.jp – gooニュース. https://web.archive.org/web/20080425204546/http://news.goo.ne.jp/article/r25/life/r25-1112008041713.html . 25 April 2008.
  20. Web site: Nebeliks telegramų paslaugos - Ekonomika - Klaipėda. Klaipeda.diena.lt. 25 September 2007. 1 July 2013.
  21. Web site: The last telegram - Editorial. New Straits Times. 5 July 2012. 1 July 2013.
  22. Web site: Telecomunicaciones de México. telecomm.net.mx.
  23. Web site: Telecom Notices. ntc.net.np.
  24. Web site: Indian telegram service – end of a memorable era. Dilawar Hussain. dawn.com. 15 July 2013.
  25. http://www.interaksyon.com/infotech/end-of-an-era-the-last-telegram-sent-in-the-philippines "END OF AN ERA|The last telegram sent in the Philippines"
  26. Web site: Serviços de proximidade nas Lojas CTT.
  27. Web site: Telegram - Srbija. Javno preduzeće "Pošta Srbije" Beograd. 17 May 2015.
  28. Web site: Telegram - Inostranstvo. Javno preduzeće "Pošta Srbije" Beograd. 17 May 2015.
  29. Web site: Pošta Slovenije - Obvestilo. posta.si.
  30. Web site: Telia lägger ned telegramverksamheten. Edling. Lotta. 28 February 2002. Affärsvärlden. https://web.archive.org/web/20140521032220/https://www.affarsvarlden.se/hem/nyheter/article2537715.ece. 21 May 2014. 21 May 2014.
  31. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/connecting-britain/edward-prince-wales-visits-londons-telegram-boys/ "Edward Prince of Wales visits London's telegram boys"
  32. Web site: Unitel Telegram Services; Efficiency in Telegraphy . www.uniteltelegram.com . 16 May 2023.
  33. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5186113 "NPR: Western Union sends its last telegram"
  34. News: Dan. Tynan. Ten technologies that should be extinct (but aren't). NBC News .
  35. Web site: International Telegram - Answers to some common questions. 26 September 2016.
  36. Web site: Telegramas . antel.com.uy . 2023-12-28.