Balancing Access and the Universal Service Obligation
The situation currently faced by national post offices (POs) is quite serious in that they face competition not just from electronic media, particularly the Internet, but also pressure to open up their traditional monopoly markets to entrants. At the same time, they still face a continuing Universal Service Obligation (USO). In this situation, the problem of terms and conditions under which access should be provided to entrants is of critical importance to the future of the postal sector.