Every Nicaraguan town of any size has an Enitel office, the recently privatized state telecommunications and postal service (most people still refer to it by the old joint name of Enitel/Telcor). Except in Managua, all Enitel offices have separate sections for phone and mail services (the phone sections are generally open much later, usually until around 10pm). While the phone service is more reliable than it used to be, calling out of the country can still be a hassle.

There are virtually no coin-operated phones in Nicaragua. Major towns like Managua, LeA?n and Granada have new Publitel cardphones . Cards are available from Enitel offices and supermarkets and work by code, not magnetic strip (don't insert them into the telephone). They can be useful for making domestic calls (and calls to neighbouring countries), although it's often easier, cheaper and more reliable to make calls from an Enitel office. Outside major towns, all telephone calls have to be placed at an Enitel office.

Calling abroad , you'll have to pay a visit to an Enitel office and wait in line with huge numbers of Nicaraguans. You can ask to reverse the charges or pay for your call afterwards in cA?rdobas - tell the operator how long you wish to talk and they'll calculate the approximate cost for you. You'll then be sent to a numbered booth, where you wait for your call to be patched through - a sometimes frustrating process. Most Enitel offices are open long hours, from 7am until 10pm Monday to Friday, with reduced hours at weekends. Alternatively, many countries have direct-dial numbers that get you through to either a member-card operator (AT&T, Sprint or MCI) or your home country operator for a reverse-charge call. Calling Nicaragua from abroad, the country code is 505.

Fax machines are common in Nicaragua, although except in Managua Enitel does not provide a public fax service. If you stay at a mid-range or upmarket hotel you'll probably be able to send a fax abroad for a fee; otherwise - and especially outside Managua - you're out of luck.

Internet services are becoming more widespread, with better and cheaper connections across the country. There are plenty of places with reasonably priced Internet access in Managua, LeA?n, Granada and EstelA­, usually costing between US$2.50 and US$4 per hour, although in smaller or more remote towns the lack of competition can mean that, where available, the cost of Internet access is much higher.