Zagreb, September 26, 1998 (IKA) — At a press conference held on September 25 in Zagreb, the deputy director of HPT — Croatian Post and Telecommunications, Mladen Šutalo, reported on HPT#!s role in the preparations for the forthcoming visit by Pope John Paul II to Croatia. He pointed out that during the second visit by the Holy Father to our country, from October 2 to 4, HPT will provide increased postal and telecommunications services in order to meet the anticipated heavy demand, particularly within the systems of mobile telecommunications. A commemorative 1.5 kuna postage stamp with a picture of the Pope will be on sale starting October 2. Telephone cards with the Pope#!s picture and motifs from the places that the Pope will visit have been announced. On the first day of the Pope#!s visit, a commemorative first-day-of-issue stamped envelope will be on sale. One thousand copies of an album in honor of the Pope and Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, with two postcards and printed stamps, will be issued.
Mladen Šutalo emphasized that HPT has doubled the capacity of the CRONET digital GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) network wherever the Pope will visit. In the areas where the heaviest traffic is anticipated, the environs of Marija Bistrica and Split, 250 new public telephone booths have been installed and optic cables for quality television transmission. In order to meet heavier demands for service, HPT will extend working hours at the post offices in the places that the Pope will visit and also set up outdoor counters and stands.