Universal services and access
A good postal service is essential to the economic success and communication needs of a modern society. Postal services must be comprehensive, high-quality and reasonably priced. for all sections of the economy and society and in all regions.
What a basic universal service encompasses is established in the political process. The fundamental aspects of quality (comprehensive coverage, price and scope of the service) are established in the Postal Services Act. One of PostCom’s tasks is to monitor the quality of basic postal services and, when necessary, propose to the Federal Council appropriate measures for achieving a basic universal service.
Swiss Post is required to offer all essential postal services. This includes handling letters, packages up to 20kg, newspapers and magazines. Swiss Post also has a monopoly on handling letters weighing up to 50 grammes; it is the only service authorised to do this. In all other areas, other companies offering postal services may set up in competition with Swiss Post.
These postal services require an infrastructure in order to be used. A central element in this infrastructure is the country-wide network of post offices and post agencies which Swiss Post is required to provide. These so-called access points must be staffed and be accessible within reasonable distance to all groups of the population in all regions.