UK: Royal mail facing regulation probe

Britain’s postal regulator, Ofcom, has launched a “fundamental” review of regulation governing Royal Mail. The review follows the withdrawal of Royal Mail’s only major challenger in the end-to-end mail delivery market.

Whistl, which is owned by Dutch postal operator PostNL, pulled out of its end-to-end business this month after its major co-investor decided not to support the operation.

Now Ofcom has said it will review the situation now that Royal Mail is “no longer being subject to national competition”. This will include “the company’s ability to set wholesale prices in a way that might harm competition”.

Ofcom said in a statement that Whistl’s withdrawal from the end-to-end delivery market represents a “significant change” in the direct delivery market. Whistl continues to operate in the downstream access market, collecting and sorting business mail before handing it to Royal Mail for the last stage of delivery.

Full content: BBC News

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