The postal market is one of the oldest if not the
oldest network industry. After centuries of private
and public postal monopolies, the EC aims to
liberalize the mail market entirely whilst
safeguarding the Universal Postal Service.
Based on Swiss Data, the book first identifies the
main drivers of mail volumes and draws special
attention to "e-substitution", one of the major
challenges of the postal industry. The book then
assesses the most important cost characteristics of
the postal market. In the core of the book, the main
regulatory market models are described, modeled, and
analyzed on their price and welfare implications.
The last part of the book focuses on the two-
sidedness of the postal market, an issue that will
be crucial for successful long term regulation of
the sector.
In doing so, the book outlines the main regulatory
challenges of the industry. For the Swiss case, it
addresses the key issue whether a full market
opening of the Swiss mail market is economically
desirable given the current level of universal
service obligations in Switzerland.