Tag: France

La Poste, state-owned company, is set to offer an Internet access service to its own employees which is seen as a step towards the company’s possible launch of a mass-market Internet access service. La Poste’s Internet involvement includes online banking, service quality certifications and E-mail marketing application services. Its Internet-based turnover reached Euro60 mil in 2001. The company has also installed around 1k Cyberposte Internet kiosks in its post office network. It currently provides E-mail management for over 1.7 mil E-mail addresses.

French national postal service La Poste is readying itself for increased competition this January, when mail weighing more than 100g, or three times the standard letter weight, will be deregulated within the EU. This is a further step towards deregulation for mail weighing more than 50g, which will come into effect in January 2006. Jean-Paul Bailly, La Poste’s new chairman, has unveiled ambitious plans for the period 2003-2007. However, these cannot go ahead until a new contract has been negotiated with the government, which will probably involve streamlining some of the group’s activities.