Access

Access agreements are commercial agreements, between Royal Mail and other postal operators, negotiated independently of Postcomm.  Details of individual agreements (external website) are available on Royal Mail's website. General information on access agreements is available in the Royal Mail standards and prices section of this site.

However, where companies are unable to agree with Royal Mail on a fair price for access, Postcomm is able to intervene to ensure that access is made available on appropriate terms.

Most of the documents on this page relate to the access agreement between Royal Mail and UK Mail that was negotiated in 2003. Postcomm has recently asked for views on what problems - if any - exist with the current access framework. Full details are set out in the consultation document dated 17 January 2008, and the consultation closed on 17 March 2008. 

Related documents:

24 October 2008 - consultation responses
 March 2008 - Access Review Consultation responses (pdf, 187KB)
24 October 2008 - consultation responses 
March 2008 - Access Review Consultation response from Royal Mail (pdf, 227KB) 
17 January 2008 - consultation document
Access review. A consultation document (pdf, 465KB) 
17 January 2008 - news release 
Postcomm launches access review consultation. 
6 June 2007 - open letter 
Postcomm’s understanding of the exception from section 6 set out at section 7(2)(h) of the Postal Services Act 2000 in relation to letters conveyed to a mail centre or distribution office for onward conveyance by a licensed postal operator under an access agreement (pdf, 39KB).
18 October 2006 - direction 
Postal Services Act 2000. Sections 11 and 38. Licence granted to Royal Mail Group plc. Schedule 2 Part 2 Condition 21. Direction for the purpose of the determination of the maximum prices for access services (pdf,38KB).
18 October 2006 - spreadsheets 
Spreadsheets for the determination of prices for Royal Mail's access services following the introduction of Pricing in Proportion (Excel, 989KB). These spreadsheets comprise the Excel Workbook referred to in Postcomm's direction dated 18 October 2006. 
5 October 2006 - condition 9 guidelines - decision document 
Guidelines for customers requesting access to Royal Mail's postal facilities (pdf, 184KB). 
4 August 2006 - condition 9 guidelines - responses to consultation document
Responses to Postcomm's "Condition 9 - Guidelines: guidelines for customers requesting access to Royal Mail's postal facilities" (pdf, 509KB). 
7 June 2006 - condition 9 guidelines - consultation document 
Guidelines for customers requesting access to Royal Mail’s postal facilities (pdf, 128KB). 
29 October 2004 - note on access agreement notified by Royal Mail
Royal Mail access agreement notified on 15 October (pdf, 35KB). 
31 March 2004 - observations 
Promoting effective competition in UK postal services through downstream access (pdf, 528KB).
31 March 2004 - news release 
Postcomm publishes its observations on Royal Mail's access agreement with UK Mail Ltd. 
10 February 2004 - news release 
Postcomm welcomes access agreement. 
17 December 2003 - news release 
Postcomm welcomes access heads of terms.
11 November 2003 - news release
Postcomm asks Royal Mail to work with Postwatch to improve communications with Mailsort customers. 
12 September 2003 - presentations 
Postcomm hearing on downstream access: UK Mail presentation (pdf, 1.5MB); Royal Mail presentation (pdf, 56KB) (certain references that Royal Mail considers confidential have been omitted following its representations). 
August 2003 - Royal Mail response to proposed direction 
Developing a sustainable solution for downstream access.  Royal Mail's response to Postcomm's notice of a proposed direction to Royal Mail on downstream access by UK Mail to Royal Mail's postal facilities.  Annexes. (pdf, 996KB).
5 September 2003 - responses to proposed direction 
Responses to Postcomm's "Notice of a proposed direction to Royal Mail on downstream access by UK Mail, to Royal Mail's postal facilities" (pdf, 2.9MB).
19 May 2003 - notice of a proposed direction 
Notice of a proposed direction to Royal Mail on downstream access, by UK Mail, to Royal Mail's postal facilities.  Reasons (pdf, 1.2MB).
19 May 2003 - notice of a proposed direction - summary 
 Notice of a proposed direction to Royal Mail on downstream access, by UK Mail, to Royal Mail's postal facilities.  Summary (pdf, 2MB).
19 May 2003 - news release 
Postcomm proposes access arrangements to enable UK Mail Ltd to use Royal Mail's network. 
May 2003 - Deloitte and Touche report on operational issues 
Report on the operational issues considered in granting UK Mail access to the Royal Mail pipeline in support of Postcomm's notice of a proposed direction to Royal Mail on downstream access by UK Mail to Royal Mail's postal facilities (pdf, 877KB). 
May 2003 - Frontier Economics report on access costing 
Access costing.  A final report prepared for Postcomm in support of its notice of a proposed direction to Royal Mail on downstream access, by UK Mail, to Royal Mail's postal facilities (pdf, 3.2MB).