Communicating with people both within and outside Florida, whether by mail or telephone, rarely causes problems – though no one claims that the United States’ postal system is the world’s fastest (at least as far as domestic mail is concerned). There is more competition in the field of telecommunications: Southern Bell, for example, operates the majority of public telephones, but since there are a number of companies in the field it is often worth shopping around. An easy way to save money is to avoid making telephone calls from your hotel room, for which often exorbitant surcharges are imposed.
Public pay phones are everywhere in cities; elsewhere, you will find them mainly in
gas stations, shops, and malls.
Most public telephones take coins – you’ll need about $8 worth of quarters to make an
international call. However, there is a growing number of card-operated phones. Some
of these take special prepaid debit cards, which involve dialing a toll-free number to
gain access to your required number. Alternatively, you can use your credit card from any
phone. You must simply dial (800) CALLATT, key in your credit card number, and then
wait to be connected; you will be charged at normal rates.
Telephone directories are supplied at most public phones and give details of rates.
TELEPHONE CHARGES
Toll free numbers (which are prefixed by 800, 888, or 877) are common in the US. Note,
however, that they are not toll free if calling from outside the US, and be aware that some
hotels may impose an access charge for these calls.
When making a local call from a public telephone, the minimum charge, 25 cents, will buy you about three minutes. For long-distance domestic calls the lowest rate (which is 60
percent less than the standard rate) runs from 7pm to 8am on weekdays and on weekends
(except 5 to 11pm on Sunday). These discounts also apply to calls to Canada, but they
take effect an hour later. International rates vary depending on which country you are con-
tacting: the cheapest rate for the UK is from 6pm to 7am.
Most telephone calls are possible without the aid of an operator (whose intervention
raises the price of a normal
REACHING THE RIGHT NUMBER
• Direct-dial calls to another area code: dial 1 followed by the area code and the 7-digit number. Since the 3-digit area codes can cover large areas, some “zone calls” (those
within the same code area) also require you to dial 1 first.
• International direct-dial calls: dial 011, then the code of the country (Australia 61, New Zealand 64, UK 44), followed by the local area/city code (minus the first 0) and the number.
• International operator assistance: dial 01.
• International directory inquiries: dial 00.
• Local operator assistance: dial 0.
• Local directory inquiries: dial 411.
• Long-distance information: dial 1, then the appropriate area code, followed by 555-1212.
• An 800, 888, or 877 prefix means the call will be free.
• For the police, fire or ambulance service, dial 911.call). Collect calls can be made
only by the operator and so can be very expensive. Using a phone card is the cheapest
option for long-distance calls.
INTERNET ACCESS
Nowadays many travelers carry laptop computers to send and receive personal e-mails whilst on vacation. A number of hotels offer guests wireless Internet access (Wi-Fi) in their rooms.
There are also many Internet cafés across the state, which generally charge by the hour (or half-hour) for relatively high-speed Internet connections. Many hotels and especially hostels offer this service, too.
POSTAL SERVICES
Post office opening hours vary but are usually 9am to 5pm on weekdays, with some offices opening on Saturday mornings too. Drugstores and hotels often sell stamps, and some department stores and big transit terminals have stamp vending machines. Note that
stamps not bought from a post office sometimes cost extra.
Surface mail sent overseas from the US takes weeks, so you’d do better to send letters
air mail, which should take five to ten working days. All domestic mail goes first
class and takes one to five days – longer if you forget to include the zip code. You can pay extra for Priority Mail, for a delivery in two to three days, or Express Mail, which offers next-day delivery in the US and within two to three days to many foreign countries. Be sure to use the right mail-box. Mailboxes are painted blue; Express and Priority mailboxes are silver and blue and are clearly marked. Many Americans use private courier services, such as UPS, DHL, and Federal Express, for both domestic and international mail; they can offer next-day
delivery to most destinations.Many shops can mail purchases home for you; mailing
a parcel yourself involves the use of approved materials available from post offices.
TELEVISION AND RADIO
Television in Florida is the same as anywhere else in the US: that is, dominated by game shows, sit-coms, talk shows, and soaps. The cable channels offer more variety:
ESPN is devoted to sports, CNN to news, for example. Hotel rooms usually have cable TV, but you may have to pay to see a movie.Most radio stations pump out pop and easy listening music, but if you hunt around (especially on the FM band) you can often pick up entertaining local stations, including Spanish-language ones in south Florida.
More serious broadcasting is left to the likes of NBC, ABC, and PBS (Public Broadcasting System), which serve up a diet of documentaries, talk shows, and
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