It has signed a cooperation agreement with the UPU worth around EUR 500,000, in the belief that the project would offer an “undisputable benefit for future customers”.

The UPU secured the rights to the .post top-level domain back in 2009.

The idea is that universal postal service operators around the world would be able to offer secure digital mail services with email addresses that end with “.post” rather than “.com”.

The UPU said the “generous” support from Poste Italiane would push the project forward.

UPU director general Edouard Dayan said: “The UPU can confidently move towards launching .post by the 25th UPU Congress in Doha”. The UPU’s Congress takes place in the Qatari capital in September and October this year.

Poste Italiane’s chief executive, Massimo Sarmi, said his company had made its “decisive” contribution in order to get the project launched this year. “.post represents an undisputable benefit for customers increasingly using the Internet, as it will offer them the guarantee of a secure and trusted environment.”

Along with its funding contribution, Poste Italiane will be providing experts to work on the technical and marketing aspects of the project.

The UPU’s secure electronic platform would support integration of physical, electronic and financial services for postal providers, expanding the postal brand and business on the Internet while ensuring that mail received with a .post extension comes from a recognised postal provider.

UPU, a UN-affiliated group based in Berne, Switzerland, represents the postal interests of 193 member countries.

Source: Post&Parcel/UPU

Tags: digital mail, Italy, Post, Poste Italiane, UPU