The Postcomm announcement to bring forward the total liberalisation of the UK mail market, opening the Royal Mail to full competition earlier than previously announced, is brave but it does not necessarily mean that Royal Mail will immediately lose significant volumes of mail.

Evidence in other markets, such as New Zealand and Sweden, where similar action has been taken, has led to little effective competition. If anything, the general public (who represent a minority of the market by volume) has ended up paying more and big business less as the incumbent gives discounts to volume senders and compensates for this by charging more for the standard letter. Notwithstanding this, our first class mail service is still one of the cheapest in Europe.

Triangle feels that for the market to really open up there will need to be further stimulus to develop real competition, encourage new business models and ensure innovation. It can be done. A good example is the airline industry where deregulation has led to innovation such as the budget airlines and much cheaper and more widespread travel.

It has taken almost 20 years for BT to be forced to give genuine access to the last mile. Access to Royal Mail's final mile network has already been agreed by UK Mail, a private carrier, and this should stimulate other operators to enter the market on the same terms. However this, in itself, will not guarantee a fair and open market where competitors succeed; neither, for that matter, will this be achieved by simply bringing forward the date of open access.