This compilation of original essays by an international cast of public
sector economists and industry practitioners analyzes some of the major
issues now facing postal and delivery services throughout the world as
competition from information and communications technologies has increased.
Competition has become increasingly important in the postal sector for some
time in the form of alternative entrants providing mail delivery. However,
the competition from information and communications technologies (ICT) in
the form of email and instant messaging, the Internet, Facebook and other
forms of social networking and portable wireless devises such as the iPad
and Kindle may be even more significant. Mail volumes are falling and the
economies of scale that have made possible daily deliveries to every address
are being eroded. This book assesses volume these declines resulting from
this so-called 'eSubstituion' and looks at the ways the postal sector can
adapt to the rapid changes resulting from ICT. The impact of electronic
invoicing on transactions mail, and the impact on bulk mail of electronic
forms of advertising are examined. Strategies, including pricing and access
policies, are discussed in the context of the increasing impact of ICT.
A rethinking of the role of mail in an electronic age is taking place and
this book provides the cutting-edge of this rethinking and the attempts of
POs to reinvent themselves while continuing to meet the public's expectation
of continuing ubiquitous daily deliveries of traditional mail products.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in regulation,
competition law, innovation and public sector economics along with
institutional libraries and industry professionals will find this volume
informative and useful.

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