Tag: Domestic

Malawi Postal Corporation (MPC) braves competition

Posted by | Feb 18, 2008 | |

Malawi Postal Corporation (MPC) said it has come up with three services that would put it back on the market with a competitive edge.

The services to be officially opened tomorrow by the Minister of Information and Civic Particia Kaliati are minibuses, fast cash money transfer and express mail.

Speaking to journalists in Blantyre, Post Master General Mike Makawa said the coming in of internet services and fast transport like minibuses had caught the parastatal on the back foot.

He said the parastatal has 12 minibuses which will be operating in the rural areas: five in the South, four in the Centre and three in the North.

He said the minibuses would not compete with the formal buses as they would carry passengers while delivering mail in rural post offices.

He said the bus fares would not be different from those prevailing on the market as the institution was not in competition with minibus operators.

The post master general, who could not reveal how much was paid for the buses, dismissed reports that the institution misused donor funds when is purchased the minibuses.

He said services like the Fast Cash Money Transfer would facilitate fast secure and reliable movement of money in rural areas where there are no formal banking facilities.

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ARCEP publishes the results of its public consultation on access to mailboxes (France)

Posted by | Feb 15, 2008 | |

Legislators included in the postal regulation law of 2005 the principle of equal access to mailboxes between authorised postal operators and the universal service provider, La Poste. Already in 2004-2005, postal operators complained of difficulties in gaining access to mailboxes in residential apartment buildings having opted for permanently restricted access. New entrants on the market complained of a discriminatory situation with respect to La Poste which had means to enter all apartment buildings. It quickly became clear that to restore the equity desired by the law, a technical analysis of the situation would be necessary. In November 2006, ARCEP initiated discussions with all players concerned by the problem of access to mailboxes. In addition to the distribution operators directly concerned—authorised postal operators, press delivery services, parcel distributors—property professionals also contributed to the work. These discussions helped to establish a diagnosis, highlighted the complexity and variety of situations and raised other questions which are not under ARCEP’s jurisdiction, which is limited to access to mailboxes for operators holding a postal authorisation. In late November 2007, ARCEP launched a public consultation in order to share its analysis of the situation, collect as many points of view as possible and to come up with solutions.

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New Zealand Post adopts pricing in proportion

Posted by | Feb 15, 2008 | |

New Zealand Post today announced new pricing for domestic letters and parcels which better reflects the cost of delivering these services.

Mail will be priced in direct proportion to its size and weight from 28 March 2008.

“The vast majorities of letters sent are small or medium and will not change in price. A medium letter sent Standard Post will still cost 50 cents,” said New Zealand Post’s Chief Executive Officer Postal Services Peter Fenton.

Mr Fenton says that size makes a difference to the cost of handling mail.

Mr Fenton said New Zealand Post was known internationally as a low-cost postal service and the new ‘pricing in proportion’ approach would not change this.

“A foolscap envelope (E35 sized, less than 20mm thick and weighing under 500gm) would cost NZD 5.97 to send in Australia and NZD 3.81 Second Class in the UK in New Zealand currency, but is still only NZD 2.00 in New Zealand under pricing in proportion.”

International and bulk mail services are not affected by the changes.

Parcel dimensions and corresponding prices will also change under pricing in proportion in line with the new letter prices. Already purchased existing prepaid bags and parcel tickets will remain valid.

Smaller lighter parcels will go down in price as a result.

A new range of parcels called ParcelPost™ is being introduced to replace the current packet and parcel services. The ParcelPost™ range includes new handy pre-paid bags to make sending smaller items more convenient and provides proof of delivery for an extra fee.

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ComReg publishes its 2008-10 Postal Strategy Statement

Posted by | Feb 15, 2008 | |

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) today
published its Strategy Statement for the Postal Sector in Ireland for the
period 2008 – 2010. The statement sets out ComReg’s vision of a
dynamic and competitive market offering an increasingly wide range of
competitively-priced, quality postal products and services.

Postal services have long been recognised as an essential part of
Ireland’s economic infrastructure and this is reflected in the Universal
Service Obligation and other such safeguards in the interests of users.

The Strategy Statement notes that the European Council and the
European Parliament have now adopted a Common Position on the third
Postal Directive, setting a deadline of 31 December 2010 for the full
market opening of postal markets.

This new Directive will provide Member States with the flexibility to tailor
the regulatory framework to suit national characteristics. The Minister for
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD, has
already announced that he will consult with stakeholders on the options
available to him before transposing the Directive into Irish Law. The need
to balance the desire for light-handed regulation with the need for proper
controls to deter any potential for anti-competitive activity will be
fundamental in determining how this is best achieved.

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Stamps increasing by one cent to 42c in May (U.S)

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

The price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase from 41 to 42 cents on May 12.

Prices for other mailing services, such as Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including single-piece Parcel Post), and Special Services will also change (see chart below). The average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

“The Postal Service developed the Forever Stamp for consumers to ease the transition during price changes,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “We encourage Americans to buy Forever Stamps now for 41 cents, because like the name suggests, they are good forever.” The price goes up to 42 cents on May 12.

The Postal Service has sold 5 billion Forever Stamps since the launch last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change.

Consistent with a new law*, prices for mailing services will be adjusted annually each May. The Postal Service plans to provide 90 days’ notice before the price changes each year.

New prices for shipping services, including Express Mail and Priority Mail, will be announced in March. Prices for all postal products and services are available at usps.com/prices.

*The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

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