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Communications in Australia

Post

The postal service in Australia is both efficient and cheap. Sending mail within the country is obviously very easy. For international mail, Australia Post has divided the world into two areas: Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World.

Telephone

Various services are available from a number of different providers.

Long distance calls are cheaper during off-peak hours, which are 1900 to 0700. There are four area codes in the country:

• New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory 02
• Victoria and Tasmania 03
• Queensland 07
• South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory 08

All regular numbers have an area code followed by an eight-digit telephone number. International calls can be made from most public pay-phones.

Voice over Internet Protocol

VoIP is a new technology which allows users to verbally communicate through their computer. Essentially a telephone call made using the internet, VoIP is becoming increasingly more common in the business world due to its low costs, and easy set-up and maintenance.

Forget installation engineers and phone number changes, as long as you have a broadband connection, you can use VoIP any time, any where.

For businesses, this software is sure to eventually phase out the traditional phonecall. For as low as 4p for local and national calls, the economical potential is vast. With international calls often even less than that, VoIP is perfect if you are prone to long-distance telecommunication, or have offices, clients, partners, etc, overseas. What's more, calls made between VoIP users are typically free all you pay for is the standard internet service.

Internet Access

Internet access is easily available in Australia. ISP access is commonly available in most offices, cafes and hotels for those who travel with their own computers.

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