Telegram. Any still out there?

[powerjacob]

A friend of mine said that before she died she would like to receive a telegram. I couldn’t say if I even knew they were still around with all the means of communication we have in todays world. I thought of Western Union. After doing a little research courtesy of The Straight Dope, I discovered they quit the telegram business back in 2006 and deal strictly with money (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtelegram.html) . My friend had also discovered this.

So, are there any telegram services (not the singing kind) still around?

If it helps she plans on taking a trip to Israel in the near future. I’ve never been, of course, but I thought it might be possible telegrams could still be in use overseas.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[beowulff]

As of 2000, it looks like Israel still had telegram service: http://web02.postil.com/shnatonim.nsf/pagesE/2000Shoham?opendocument

[Mr.Moto]

I might be the last person on the boards to actually get a telegram. I got one in 1997.

[Santo_Rugger]

The first result when Googling “telegram service” is http://www.americantelegram.com/, the second is http://www.itelegram.com/, the third is… well, you get the idea.

[aldiboronti]

Wikipedia has a good rundown of the present state of affairs (scroll down to ‘Telegraphy as a legacy system’).

Here’s the first para, which deals with the US:

Western Union announced the discontinuation of all of its telegram services effective from the 31 January 2006.[19] Only 20,000 telegrams were sent in 2005, compared with 20 million in 1929. According to Western Union, which still offers money transfer services, its last telegram was sent Friday, 27 January 2006.[20] The company stated that this was, “… the final transition from a communications company to a financial services company.”[21]

Telegram service in the United States and Canada is still available, operated by iTelegram and Globegram. Some companies, like Swedish Telia still deliver telegrams, but these telegrams serve as nostalgic novelty items rather than a primary means of communication.

[Neptunian_Slug]

@Mr. Moto

I might be the last person on the boards to actually get a telegram. I got one in 1997.

You just beat me. A friend sent me one from Russia for X-Mas 1996.

[MINQster]

Telegrams are certainly still being delivered, at least as of a few weeks ago. Got this one at my front door. Had to sign for it.

Webshots - Desktop Wallpaper / Screen Savers

[HorseloverFat]

I doubt the itelegram or any modern telegram has anything in common with the classic telegram. No one is punching in morse and its probably going over a modem or the internet directly, instead of some dedicated telegraph wire. The service just print out a text message and couriers/mails it to you.

[Freddy_the_Pig]

@HorseloverFat

I doubt the itelegram or any modern telegram has anything in common with the classic telegram. No one is punching in morse and its probably going over a modem or the internet directly, instead of some dedicated telegraph wire. The service just print out a text message and couriers/mails it to you.

That’s what I was wondering about. Certainly, there are still companies (and probably always will be) that will hand carry a printed message to a recipient for a fee. But when was the last time you could send a message that would travel at least part of the way over a dit-dash-dit dedicated telegraph wire? Can you still do it anywhere in the world?

[Markxxx]

Don’t forget singing telegrams and other types of “entertainment” telegrams. They still exist.

[Chez_Guevara]

@Freddy_the_Pig

But when was the last time you could send a message that would travel at least part of the way over a dit-dash-dit dedicated telegraph wire? Can you still do it anywhere in the world?

I wonder if Mexico qualifies.

The article is short, somewhat vague, and uncorroborated. Furthermore, two crucial links don’t work.

Link.

[HorseloverFat]

Poles are still up. I wouldnt be surprised if these two were active:

Looks like there’s some in India:

Cyprus Greece: