Kenya Travel Guide - Communications

Country code: 254 (followed by 20 for Nairobi, 41 for Mombasa and 51 for Nakuru). International calls can usually be made directly, but in some rural areas, international calls are diverted through the operator. Public telephones work with coins or with phone cards (which may be purchased from post offices or from international call services in major towns); coin-operated phone booths are painted red, card-operated booths are painted blue. Major hotels also offer an international phone service, but they usually charge up to 100% more. In larger towns, private telecommunication centres offer international services. For local calls, it is useful to have plenty of small change available.

Roaming agreements exist with international mobile phone companies. The main network providers are Celtel (website: www.celtel.com), which has extensive coverage in the southwest, around the coast and Mombasa, and Safaricom (website: www.safaricom.co.ke), with coverage in from Mombasa to Nairobi and in the southeast. Local SIM cards and top-up cards are available to buy everywhere.

There are Internet cafes in major cities and hotels.

Post offices are identified by Telkom Kenya (Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation). Post boxes are red. Stamps can usually be bought at post offices, stationers, souvenir shops and hotels. Airmail to Western Europe takes up to four days, and the service is generally reliable. If you are sending parcels out of the country the contents must be inspected and the parcel wrapped (in brown paper and string) at the post office.

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700, Sat 0900-1200 (main post offices).

Kenya enjoys a more diverse media scene than many other African countries, although some media have been harrassed for upsetting the government. Most Kenyans rely on the broadcast media, particularly radio, for news. The print media is dominated by two publishing houses, the Nation Media Group and the Standard Group, which also have broadcasting interests.

• The main dailies (all published in English) include Daily Nation, The East African Standard and Kenya Times.
• Nairobi is the main publishing centre.
• Newspapers from Tanzania and Uganda are also widely circulated in Kenya.

• State-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) has channels in English and Swahili.
• Kenya Television Network was the first TV station to break the state broadcasting monopoly; it is now operated by the Standard Group.
• NTV is a Nairobi-based station operated by the Nation Media Group.
• Other private channels include Nairobi-based station Citizen TV and Family TV.

• Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is state owned, with language-based networks in English, Swahili and 15 other indigenous languages.
• Metro FM is a national music-based station operated by KBC.
• Capital FM and Kiss FM are music stations.
• Radio Citizen is a private station with wide coverage, which also operates Kikuyu-language Inooro FM and Luo-language.
• Full-time FM relays of the BBC World Service are on the air in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, and some BBC programmes are also rebroadcast by private Kameme FM.
• The Voice of America and Radio France Internationale are relayed on FM in Nairobi and Mombasa.