The telecommunication system in Brunei Darussalam is on par with the best in South-East Asia, serving the country phones and two earth satellite stations for worldwide IDD, Telex and facsimile links. The Empire Hotel and Country Club is equipped with these services.

Hallo Kad, a pre-paid card is available and allows calls to be made, with any phone over 130 countries from Brunei and from 68 countries to Brunei. You can purchase a Hallo Kad at the international airport and other local vendors. Coin phones are operable with local coins of 10 and 20-cent denominations. Phone cards for card-operated phones are available from JTB (Jabatan Telekom Brunei) and many retail stores.

DSTCom, the mobile system of Brunei Darussalam, offers the system GSM. If you have a GSM phone you may use it in Brunei, depending on agreements between your home country and Brunei. GSM phone rental service is available from DSTCom. Mobile phones rental charges may vary. For further information call the DSTCare Hotline, 151.

BruNet
Brunei Internet is offered through the BruNet services of (JTB) Jabatan Telekom Brunei, Ministry of Communications. A majority of its subscribers gain access through the telephone line (Dial-up Access). Currently there are two accessing speeds: 33.6Kbps and 56Kbps. An ADSL (e-speed) connection is also available for Bruneian telephone subscribers. More information about BruNet is available at http://www.brunet.bn and for the Brunei Government information, you may want to try http://www.brunei.gov.bn

Their sites also offer information on the colourful history of the land, the people, the government and interesting places to visit in Brunei Darussalam.

If you wish to keep in contact with friends and relatives back home through e-mail, you may use GRIC Internet Global Roaming or log in at "cyber cafes" located in and around the capital.

Postal Services
The Empire Hotel and Country Club provide postal services at the front desk. Post offices are open from 7:45am to 4:30pm daily, except on Friday and Sunday. On Friday, opening times are from 8am to 11am and from 2pm to 4pm.

Airmail Postcard Rates:
Malaysia & Singapore 20 cents
Other countries 35-60 cents

Newspapers
There are two local daily papers in Brunei: Borneo Bulletin (English) and Media Permata (Malay), which cover both local and international events. The government also publishes a weekly paper, Pelita Brunei, which spotlights government policies and personalities.

Television
The national television network, Radio & Television Brunei (RTB), transmits programmes produced locally and overseas for about 8 hours on weekdays, 12 hours on Friday and 15 hours on Sundays. News bulletins are broadcast in Malay and English and carry several international news services. Malaysian television can also be received.

At The Empire Hotel and Country Club channels you can receive are BBC, CNN, Channel News Asia, HBO, Star Movies, Hallmark, Star World, National Geographic, Discovery, ESPN, Star Sports, MTV, Cartoon Network, TV5, NHK, Arirang, Phoneix, RTB, RTM1, RTM2 and TV3.

Radio
Radio Brunei consists of two networks, one in Malay and other in English, Chinese and Gurkhali and are called National Network and Pilihan Network respectively. Both networks operate on medium wave and FM stereo bands. The National Network starts at 4:30am until midnight, while the Pilihan Network starts at 6am until midnight. Pelangi Network, which began operation on 1 January 1996, is a bilingual network (Malay & English) and operates on FM stereo band only. Kristal FM is a bilingual network (Malay & English) and programmes start from 6am until midnight. The UK (London) radio stations Capital FM and Capital Gold can also be received.