If You Can't Lick 'em... Join 'em

The impact of email. The postal service says it doesn't know exactly how much business it has been losing to email, but the manager of of economic analysis and forecasting for the service says it has been substantial.

Malcolm Harris says it is hard to know just how much paper correspondence is being sent by email instead, but with more and more households and businesses online, there is clearly worry....

"Ironically, one of the areas where we are most worried, bills, payments and remittances, where electronic banking is a major threat, is an area we've gained market share for decades now."

So what is the postal service to do? There are plans underway to start offering free postal service email addresses to everyone. Then it could sell premium email delivery services...

"We've gone to trade shows and shown people some products that would replicate providing a delivery confirmation and an electronic postmark and that sort of thing. And if we can find something that suits the public's needs and is technologically sound that might be an area which we could use our trustworthiness to make sure that people get the documents they want electronically."

How soon? Once the technology is dependable enough, says Harris. So neither computer crashes, glitches, or internet congestion can keep them from their appointed rounds.