Market opening timetable
Britain's postal service market was fully liberalised on 1 January 2006, completing the process of removing the monopoly enjoyed by Royal Mail for more than 350 years.
The decision means that, since 1 January 2006 - fifteen months earlier than originally planned - licensed companies other than Royal Mail have been able to collect, transport and deliver letters and charge customers for the service. This change followed extensive consultation, during which a large majority of respondents said they favoured the early introduction of full market opening.
Big businesses are likely to be the first to take up the wider services being introduced, but the benefits are also expected to feed through to domestic users. Even in the limited competitive market that already existed before 2006 (the bulk mail sector was opened up in 2003), Royal Mail saw some of its business customers switch to other postal service providers, and in response tightened up its own service standards.
Background information on competition in the UK mail market, including a list of the key dates leading up to market opening.
Related Documents:
- 18 February 2005 - decision document
- Giving customers choice: a fully open postal services market. A decision document (pdf, 301KB).
- 18 February 2005 - news release
- Royal Mail's monopoly to end on 1 January 2006.
- 18 February 2005 - leaflet
- Giving customers choice. The future for mail services (pdf, 67KB).
- January 2005 - non-confidential responses to September 2004 revised market opening timetable
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Amicus CMA (pdf, 65KB),
Association of International Couriers and Express Services (AICES) (pdf, 19KB),
Communication Workers Union (CWU) (pdf, 1.3MB),
Direct Marketing Association (DMA) (pdf, 46KB),
European Express Association (EEA) (pdf, 26KB),
Intellect (pdf, 38KB),
Mail Users' Association (MUA) (pdf, 52KB),
Postmasternetwork (pdf, 27KB),
Postwatch (pdf, 42KB),
Royal Mail (pdf, 167KB),
Special Mail Services (SMS) (pdf, 70KB),
TPG (pdf, 25KB),
Trades Union Congress - Southern and Eastern Regional Council (SERTUC) (pdf, 523KB),
WWAV Rappp Collins Group (pdf, 86KB). - 20 September 2004 - consultation document
- A revised market opening timetable. Proposals for consultation (pdf, 450KB).
- 20 September 2004 - news release
- Postcomm proposes a faster route to ending Royal Mail's postal monopoly.
- 19 September 2002 - news release
- Postcomm to hold three public meetings in Scotland.
- 5 March 2002 - Andersen report on the impact of liberalisation on Consignia's financial performance
- Sensitivity analysis of the impact of liberalisation on the financial performance of Consignia and its business segments: a report prepared on behalf of Postcomm (pdf, 3.9MB).
- 29 May 2002 - decision document
- Promoting effective competition in UK postal services. A decision document (pdf, 223KB).
- 29 May 2002 - decision document - summary
- Promoting effective competition in UK postal services. A decision document summary (pdf, 45KB).
- 29 May 2002 - news release
- Postcomm gives Consignia an extra year to adjust to full competition.
- 21 May 2002 - Andersen report on Consignia's response to an analysis of its financial performance
- Review of Consignia's response to "Sensitivity analysis of the impact of liberalisation on the financial performance of Consignia and its business segments, 31 January 2002. A report for Postcomm (pdf, 140KB).
- 8 May 2002 - Frontier Economics response to Consignia's comments
- Response to Consignia's comments. A note by Frontier Economics (pdf, 54KB). Summarises Frontier Economics' response to Consignia's comments on Frontier Economics' report: "The impact of liberalisation on efficiency: A survey"
- 1 May 2002 - initial assessment of OXERA report from Professor Anthony Steele, Warwick business School
- Review of deriving a base cost NPV for Consignia (pdf, 17KB).
- May 2002 - responses to January 2002 market opening proposals
- Responses to "Postcomm's proposals for promoting effective competition in UK postal services" consultation document (pdf, 622KB).
- 10 April 2002 - news release
- Postcomm to hold public meeting in Enniskillen.
- 13 March 2002 - news release
- Postcomm extends competition consultation deadline to 12 April.
- 5 March 2002 - news release
- Postcomm not "ready to retreat".
- 31 January 2002 - consultation document
- Postcomm's proposals for promoting effective competition in UK postal services (pdf, 488KB).
- 31 January 2002 - consultation document - summary
- Postcomm's proposals for promoting effective competition in UK postal services. Summary (pdf, 39KB).
- 31 January 2002 - Andersen report on the impact of liberalisation
- Sensitivity analysis of the impact of liberalisation on the financial performance of Consignia and its business segments: a summary report prepared on behalf of Postcomm by Andersen (pdf, 190KB).
- 31 January 2002 - news release
- Postcomm proposes three-step plan to full mail market opening.
- January 2002 - Competition Working Group - summary of members' views
- Competition Working Group. Summary of members's views (pdf, 37KB).
- January 2002 - Frontier report on the impact of liberalisation
- The impact of liberalisation on efficiency: a survey. A report prepared for Postcomm (pdf, 193KB).
- November 2001 - consultation responses
- Responses to the "Promoting effective competition in postal services" consultation document (pdf, 695KB).
- 29 June 2001 - consultation document
- Promoting effective competition in UK postal services. A consultation document (pdf, 290KB).
- 28 June 2001 - news release
- Postcomm defines debate on postal competition.
- 28 June 2001 - news release
- Postcomm issues documents on introducing competition and the cost of the universal postal service.
- June 2001 - Association of International Courier and Express Services report on the impact of competition
- The impact of competition in the postal sector. A report from the Association of International Courier and Express Services (pdf, 123KB).
- 29 September 2000 - consultation document
- Promoting effective competition between postal operators. A consultation document (pdf, 208KB).
- 29 September 2000 - news release
- Postcomm consults on how to promote competition in postal services.
