Royal Mail is braced for the outcome of a five-month review by the communications industry regulator, Ofcom, on Wednesday. The watchdog is poised to lay out options for the future of deliveries, including the universal service obligation (USO) that mandates Royal Mail to deliver nationwide at a fixed price, six days a week.
Pre-empting the review, a row has already broken out over an expected option to cut Saturday letter deliveries. As recently as last year, Ofcom rejected the idea, which Royal Mail has pushed for. Industry sources claim a cut to a five-day service is the first step on a road to a three-day a week, or alternate day service, or potentially relaxing delivery targets.
