Communications infrastructure

Telephone and Internet

The SPM Telecom company offers telephone and Internet services; service fees are regulated to avoid inflated prices. At this time, a monthly telephone subscription costs just over € 12.

To telephone Saint-Pierre and Miquelon from Canada or the United States, dial 011 followed by 508 and the six-digit number; from metropolitan France, dial 0 followed by 508 and the six-digit number. To call from another country, dial the appropriate international code followed by 508 and the six-digit number.

To telephone from Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to Canada or the United States, dial 001 followed by the area code and the seven-digit number. For metropolitan France, dial the ten-digit number, usually preceded by 0. To call another country, dial 00 following by the country code, regional code and number.

Cell phones may be used. The local SPM Telecom company offers a GSM network. For a wireless telephone linked to a North American network, it is possible that it the network might not be accessible from Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Reception might be poor if the network is accessible. For more information on the availability of cell service, users must contact their service providers.

The number of Internet service subscribers is high on the archipelago. Equipment quality and subscription rates are, in fact, clearly superior to those of metropolitan France. The Internet service, also offered by SPM Telecom, is technologically advanced and uses cable or fibre optics. A project for an underwater digital cable is under consideration, to link Saint-Pierre and Miquelon with Canada. There are also two Internet cafés available to residents and visitors.

Videoconferencing is also available on the archipelago, which allows entrepreneurs to communicate with people outside the archipelago, and employees to access distance training.

Postal service

There are two postal services on the archipelago: one in Saint-Pierre and the other in Miquelon. To receive mail, post offices are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. except between 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Post office box services are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Saint-Pierre and from Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Miquelon. To send mail, off office hours, mail boxes can be used 24/7 just outside the Post office.

A priority mail service (by airplane) and an economy service (by airplane and boat) are offered. For priority mail to metropolitan France and Canada, there are two departures weekly (Wednesday via Halifax and Saturday via Montreal) and three arrivals weekly. The economy service with metropolitan France has one departure and one arrival weekly. Please refer to the postal service website for the various rates.