Bolivia Travel Guide - Communications

Country code: 591.

Roaming agreements exist with a limited number of international mobile phone companies; travellers are advised to check with their mobile phone service provider. Local chips are freely available for unlocked phones. Coverage is average.

Widely available in large cities and resorts; there are Internet cafes in main towns.

Airmail to Europe takes three to four days.

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-2000, Sat 0900-1800.

Media ownership is highly concentrated. Bolivia's media are dominated by privately-run press and broadcasting outlets. Freedom of the press is upheld and self-censorship is usually exercised when dealing with reports of social unrest and political machinations, but attacks on journalists do still occur. Low literacy levels impede upon newspaper readership; radio tends to have precedence.

• The main papers published in La Paz are El Diario (daily) and La Razón (daily).
• In Santa Cruz, dailies include El Deber and El Mundo.
• In Cochabamba, Los Tiempos is the main daily.

• Televisión Boliviana (Canal 7) is the government-run, commercial station.
• Private stations in Santa Cruz are Bolivisión (Canal 4) and Unitel (Canal 9).
• Private stations in La Paz are ATB Red Nacional (Canal 9), Red Uno (Canal 11) and TV Universitaria (Canal 13).
• Red PAT is a national private TV station.

• Radio stations dealing with news and talk include Radio Fides (Catholic-based), Radio Metropolitana and Radio Panamericana.
• Radio Cadena Nacional (RCN) is the major national radio station.
• Radio Illimani is a popular state-run station.