Deutsche Telekom takes on Deutsche Post at digital mail
Deutsche Post will face major competition for its digital mail service ePostbrief later this year – from its former sister, Deutsche Telekom. The two companies were split up as the old Deutsche Bundespost was privatised back in 1996, but are now set to go head-to-head in digital mail as Deutsche Telekom launches its “De-mail” service in a few months’ time.
A key selling point for the new “digital letter” service is set to be how easily existing business email accounts will be able to integrate with the secure communications channel.
Deutsche Telekom, which trades worldwide through its “T-Mobile” brand, gave a formal unveiling to its De-Mail plans today at a German international trade fair, before an audience including Chancellor Angela Merkel.
It revealed that it is working with German Internet giant United Internet on the project in an important alliance that will mean consumers with existing United Internet email accounts can use the secure De-Mail service by adding “.de-mail.de” onto the end of their existing email addresses.
Deutsche Telekom claimed the move would mean access provided for nearly two-thirds of the existing German email market.
Other partners in providing the De-Mail service include Dutch postal service PostNL through its TNT Post Germany unit.
Accredited
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel helped unveil the new De-Mail service today at the CeBIT exhibition
Today at the international telecommunications trade fair CeBIT, Deutsche Telekom also revealed that it has now been formally accredited to provide its De-Mail service by the Federal Office for Information Technology Security.
Michael Hange, the agency’s president, said that the accreditation meant the service meeting “high technical and organisational requirements”.
He said: “The accreditation of De-Mail creates the precondition that its e-mail demonstrates as safe and protected a form of communications as the letter. I am pleased that after a successful accreditation, the company can offer a safe De-Mail, and hope that this new service is established in Germany as soon as possible.”
Deutsche Telekom said with the accreditation in place, customers would soon be able to try the “secure and verifiable” digital mail service.
Reinhard Clemens, Deutsche Telekom board member and chief executive of IT subsidiary T-Systems, said: “The interest from the business sector and our management in De-Mail is huge. With T-Systems, we have the experience and processes in order to integrate De-Mail with existing IT businesses.”
Trial
A trial phase for the De-Mail service is now getting underway for major T-Systems customers, and is expected to be broadened to other private and business customers during the second quarter of the year.
Deutsche Telekom said anyone should be able to set up a De-Mail account by August.
After the trial period, private individuals would be able to send three de-mails per month at no cost, after which de-mails would cost 39 cents each on the basic service. There is set to be no charge for receiving de-mails.
Deutsche Post’s E-Postbrief costs 55 cents per message.
Special service packages will be made available for businesses using the service. Future packages in which paper-based mail services provided by TNT post are also in the pipeline, Deutsche Telekom said.
Deutsche Post said today that it was expanding the range of applications that would be available for its E-Postbrief service, including a new online e-mail ID application by the summer and a new online secure bill payment facility in the fourth quarter of the year.
