Digital Reach

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HE POSTAL SECTOR

’

role in the Information Society, and

in particular its contribution to reducing the digital divide,

has been the subject of ongoing discussions at the

Universal Postal Union (UPU) since Phase One of the World

Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in 2003. UPU

also adopted a resolution on the subject at its 2004 Congress in

Bucharest. In fact the UPU and postal sector stakeholders have

a lot to contribute in meeting the challenges of the digital revo-

lution. There have been big developments in the postal sector

over the years, mainly due to technological advances, increased

competition and the liberalization of markets. Through the judi-

cious use of new technologies, the postal sector has achieved a

prime position at the heart of today’s Information Society.

In addition to the numerous electronic services introduced

by individual Posts, UPU, with the active assistance of its

member countries, has developed a whole range of applications

and software enabling public postal operators to offer essential

services matched by improved service quality. This software

enables them to track mail items more closely and makes inter-

national money transfers more efficient, while ensuring their

security. Furthermore, UPU’s Quality of Service Fund, financed

by contributions from industrialized countries, is an excellent

example of global partnerships for cooperation and develop-

ment. This allows developing and least developed countries to

acquire the technology they need to access the universal postal

network and puts it within the reach of even the smallest and

remotest countries.

“Thanks to the new technologies adopted by the postal sector,

communicating with remote areas abroad is no longer a ques-

tion of sending messages in bottles,” says Edouard Dayan, UPU

Director General: “Through its integrated physical, electronic

and financial network, the postal sector is helping not only to

reduce the digital divide, but also to bridge the economic gap

by enabling developing countries to acquire these technologies

and know-how and giving them access to the markets of indus-

trialized countries.”

The global postal network – a natural

gateway to the Information Society

The Universal Postal Union

VSAT technology has enabled Kenya’s rural communities to rapidly access the information superhighway, with post offices serving as the access ramp