TNT Post UK is calling on Ofcom – which takes over as postal regulator from tomorrow (October 1) – to finally open up the market to fair competition, after years of preferential treatment for Royal Mail.
The Dutch-owned postal operator is also restating its demand that Royal Mail’s exemption on VAT for business mail services is scrapped.
It says concerns about the danger of more competition on Royal Mail’s Universal Service obligation are unfounded – even with the growing threat of digital media.
The company is backing its call by releasing new research, commissioned from German postal consultancy WIK-Consult, reviewing fully liberalised postal markets in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
The report found that those countries have seen much higher levels of competition than the UK, but there has been a positive impact on the state postal service provider’s ability to deliver to all households, because it has fuelled modernisation and efficiency of postal services.
Alex Dieke, head of WIK-Consult’s postal unit, said: “In the four countries studied in our report, we believe end-to-end competition has helped to achieve a sustainable Universal Service and, indeed, improve quality, by putting pressure on incumbent operators to modernise.”
TNT Post UK said that zonal pricing for business mail – where prices are higher for Royal Mail to deliver to rural areas – will also help to ensure the survival of the Universal Service.
Chief executive Nick Wells said: “The report findings will help allay fears that competition will have a detrimental impact on the ability of Royal Mail to meet its obligation to deliver to every household in the UK.
“We want a strong Royal Mail but it has to modernise to meet the needs of the market today and in the future and also be open to competitive forces that will ensure its future efficiency and prosperity.
“With Ofcom taking over regulation of the postal industry, we call upon on it to back our fight to get a level competitive playing field in the UK which will enable us to make the business case to invest millions in an end to end service as well as thousands of new jobs,” he added.
