Mails are exchanged weekly with Eritrea at Sabderat.
(For details of post offices, vide Egyptian Postal Guide, 1904, p. 175.)
Telegraphs.The telegraph now, besides connecting with Suakin and Kassala, reaches to Gallabat, Taufikia (W. Nile), Roseires, and El Obeid. A line from Khartoum through Geteina and Kawa to Goz Abu Guma is now in course of construction, and when the Nile-Red Sea Railway is commenced, a telegraph line will be built along it.
At the beginning of 1905 a telegraph line will be laid from Meshra El Rek to Wau, and thence probably viâ Rumbek to the Bahr El Jebel. Communication between Meshra and Taufikia is to be maintained by oil launches.
Till 1902 white ants were a great source of annoyance, but since steel bases have been used for telegraph poles this has, to a great extent, ceased. Creosoted poles also do not appear to be attacked by them.
Elephant and giraffe in the more southern districts are, however, likely to continue a somewhat frequent course of interruption of communication.
A reconnaissance was made in April, 1904, south of Taufikia and another from El Obeid to Nahud and Foga with a view to further extensions of the wire. In the winter of 1904-05 the line will be laid from Meshra Rek to Wau, but there is a great difficulty in connecting with Taufikia.
There are now 3,074 miles of telegraph line (3,469 miles of wire), and 35 telegraph offices, in the Sudan (vide below).
Wireless telegraphy has not been lost sight of, but will not be adopted, at any rate, for the present.
79,500 private telegrams were forwarded from Sudan offices in 1903, as against 57,700 in 1901 and 66,000 in 1902.