GSM 900 and 1800 networks cover the whole country. It is illegal to use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving. Large Internet access centres are opening in main cities. Hotels also provide facilities. These can be sent during opening hours from all post offices.
Stamps are available from hotels, slot machines and post offices.
A 5-figure postal code is used on all internal addresses. Smaller branches may close for lunch. The most influential dailies include the S ddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The most widely read of the weekly publications are Der Spiegel and Die Zeit . Some new or revamped newspapers, such as Berliner Kurier , have emerged out of eastern Germany and are competing well with western German papers.