Suva and its surrounding area are served by an automatic telephone exchange that had 80,901 mainline telephones in 1999. In 1997, there were 5,200 cellular phones in use nationwide. Fiji is a link in the world Commonwealth cable system and has radiotelephone circuits to other Pacific territories.
The Fiji Broadcasting Commission offers programs in Fijian, English, and Hindustani over Radio Fiji on three channels. In 1998, there were 13 AM and 40 FM radio station. As of 2001, there is one television broadcast station, Fiji One TV, which is owned by private and government interests. In 1999, Fiji had 541,476 radios and 88,100 television sets nationwide. In 2000, two Internet service providers were serving 7,500 subscribers.
The two daily newspapers, both published at Suva, are the English-language Fiji Times (with an estimated circulation of 34,000 in 2002) and Fiji Daily Post (9,000). The Fijian Nai Lalakai and the Hindi Shanti Dut (1995 circulations, respectively, 9,600 and 10,750) are two of the most widely read periodicals.
Freedom of speech and press are said to be generally respected by the government, and political figures and other citizens can speak out against the government freely.