Kiribati Communications has made the place more convenient. The people of Kiribati communicate with the rest of the world through their organized media service. Mainly the radio, newspapers and the cinema are considered to be the major three arms of the media that take active part in Kiribati Communications.
Since 1952, the Radio Station in Tarawa started its operation. At that time transmission was limited to a total of one and one-half hours per day that was being divided among English, Kiribati and Tuvaluan listeners.
By 1966, Kiribati Communications technology started improving in Kiribati, the hours of transmission started extending and the quality also improved. The anchors for the trilingual station started interacting with the listeners in their own language adding more color to it.
More creative input was given to the programme content. It was indeed the radio jockeys who introduced the new words, phrases into the Kiribati vocabulary and brought it to the public's attention. With constant repetition over the radio, listeners naturally adopted the invented words and become part of the daily language.
There is only one Government newspaper, a weekly, that is being issued by the Broadcasting and Publication Authority in Bairiki. It popularly known as Te Uekera.
This newspaper is published from the Government Printing Office in Bairiki every Friday afternoon. As the newspaper and radio are both the productions of the Broadcast and Publication Authority, BPA, whatever broadcasted on the radio is usually being published in the newspaper. But the newspaper is mostly preferred by the common mass as they can read it again and again and they can see the photographs for illustration. Mainly the reporters and photographers cover the current affairs and cultural events.
Cinema, on the other hand can be considered as the latest mode of Kiribati Communications. The cultural contents of it are dynamic and have acquired more popularity than the radio or the newspaper.
Now-a-days, video tapes are having more and more acceptance. The Video Tape Unit, Nei Tabera Ni Kai produces a full variety of cultural video films including all aspects of Kiribati culture and events covering the millennium celebrations.
Apart from this Kiribati has two international airports -Tarawa and Kiritimati. The main port of Kiribati is probably is Betio Tarawa. telephones are only available on Tarawa and Kiritimati and radio phones are used elsewhere. Currently GSM 900 network is in use and network provider is Telecom Services Kiribati Ltd.
