Posts and Telecoms: A look at evolution

In last month’s feature I mentioned Swiss Post and its plans to work with Apple to present customers with new products and new ways of interacting in their business. While this is just one of many possible partnerships between the Posts, technology companies and the telecom world, in this day and age when people need to stay “connected” 24/7, we cannot ignore the importance of technology and telecommunications – whether for personal use or business needs. We also cannot deny the growth and evolution of this segment, and shouldn’t forget that there was a time when the Posts and different methods of communication (telegraph, telephone, etc.) went hand-in-hand, co-existing side by side.

In parallel we are continuously reminded of the ongoing debate about whether Posts should limit themselves to their core business and offer only mail-related products, or whether they should branch out and start offering a more diverse array of products and services.

Discussions are reported about whether postal operators should continue to focus on what they know (greater efficiency in pure mail services), develop more value-added services, or diversify into new and emerging markets.  We have reported before that one size does not fit all, and that some of the factors that can lead the Boards of such companies to arrive at different strategies.

At the end, we are left with a varied number of strategies and models that different Posts have undertaken, some limiting themselves to their core business while others have opted, or are in the process of opting, to expand their offer. All of this makes learning through sharing even more interesting, as members collaborate.

With these thoughts buzzing around in my head I decided this month to briefly look back and try to understand how the past has influenced what we currently see reported regarding the development and evolution of Posts.

Rapid advances in technological developments and ever increasing customer expectations are usually the assumption over time.

When I took myself on this sort of speedy high-level history trip through Posts, I realised that although the pace of change has at times been frantic, the synergy that continues and can be found between Posts and the Telecoms sector today looks to be purely natural evolution.

Despite a natural partnership between Posts and Telecoms, en route we have seen their paths separate, often to follow very different journeys. In recent years we have seen some reconnection, albeit in different ways, with Posts and Telecoms partnering to find new mutual interest and benefits working together to provide services for customers.

Let’s start with the basics

At the most basic level, Posts have evolved to provide a conduit to enable people to communicate. With the development of technology came the telegraph to increase reach and speed of communications. National postal operators almost always benefited from their reach and “closeness” to the people and their vast infrastructure, as well as from central government funding, in offering different means of communication to the general audience.

From the continuous improvements undergone on the telegraph, emerged telephony. Initially reliant on fixed line and cables before becoming wireless, everything we see today builds on and from this infrastructure, finding different ways to package information and send it between places.

A mix of private and public ownership has always existed for the Telecoms market but in many places Posts, Telegraph and Telephony (PTT’s) formed the platform and in effect reinforced the synergy between the sectors, although these too have changed, and are changing, to reflect the opening up of markets to competition.

The UK as an example

British Telecom PLC separated from The Post Office in 1981 and became privatised in 1984, with the opening up of the marketplace following on.

Following this change, while bills could still be paid at post office counters, both The Post Office and BT went in different directions, and as the telecoms market expanded with new media and new market entrants, the gap seemed to widen with time.

Post Office Counters Ltd had agreements with BT to enable customers to pay bills, then to offer for sale pre-paid phone cards. There was even a time when the public had access to public phone booths and to household directories in main Post offices, but all of these gradually disappeared.

New telecoms market entrants continually approached Post Office Ltd given its access and reach into the community. There were a number of trials of concepts like phone shops, provision of fax machines, sales of handsets, pagers and other ancillary products over several years, each review providing POL with a further learning opportunity to help it establish and be able to decide on its longer term strategy, plan and product portfolio in this sector.

Today you do not see POL in its publicity refer to telecoms, but you do find it offering a whole branded range of Home phone and Broadband landline services and packages. In fact Post Office features high in the ratings for consumer services by watchdog bodies in UK. It also offers international phone cards and pre-pay mobile top-ups. Special offers are available for affordable computers, and as part of its commitment to digital inclusion for everyone in the UK to have access to and be able to use technology, Post Office tells you how to become a digital champion.

Other operators with telecom offers

We see similar offers presented and operating differently elsewhere such as:

• Poste Italiane’s “Poste mobile” where the portfolio includes mobile telephony as well as home internet.
• P&T Luxembourg not only offers broadband, land lines and mobile telephony, they also offer an online games service and TV services similar to those subscription services available in the UK (such as Sky).
• Australia Post also offers mobile telephony to its business customers.
• SingPost, Canada Post and PostNL offer pre-paid cards and top ups.

In fact apart from those Posts whose remit and intent has been declared as specifically limited to mail, the team found telecoms links everywhere to some extent.

Looking into the near future we examined those Posts in parts of the world where it’s been challenging for them to offer telecommunications services – either because of infrastructure limitations or cost effectiveness. An example here may be seen in Correios Brasil (officially still named “Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos“ or in English “Brazilian Post and Telegraph Corporation”) where the state has committed to the use of its infrastructure to bring mobile technology to 25m people within 2013.

No doubt we will continue to see more features like this to improve access and connectivity for people everywhere.

Other attempts by Posts to venture into the telecom market have been less successful, though maybe because of external reasons.  Magyar Posta (Hungary postal operator) had plans to branch out in the mobile telephony market but the company’s plans have been stopped for now. According to a recent ruling by the county court of Budapest the bidding process for the fourth mobile network licence in the country contained formal errors and was thus null and void.

In retrospect, despite the huge technological developments there are still some remnants of the original telegraph services offered and there are some posts that still offer telegram services, such as Correos de Argentina, Deutsche Post (nationally) and Posturinn (Iceland). New Zealand Post closed its telegram service in 1999. It later reinstated the service in 2003 for use only by business customers, primarily for debt collection or other important business notices.

There are many more examples of close links between today’s postal and telecom industries through the ages. Although both industries did part ways in the past, the link has always been there and with the new technological advancements and taking advantage of its vast geographical coverage and presence the Posts have decided to rekindle the link and realise what an attractive opportunity and business model this can be.

If you think there are some great new and emerging trends, products and services already out there, or soon to emerge, and you would like to share, do let us know as our editorial team would very much welcome contributions.