Postal Corporation signs agreement with Kenya Data Networks

By Dan Muhuni

The Postal Corporation of Kenya's chances of survival in a highly changing industry seem to be dimming as competition in the telecommunication industry grows.

Postmaster General Fred Odhiambo says the corporation whose main service is postal services will introduce a hybrid mail service in order to stay relevant in the market.

It has been tough for postal corporation of Kenya to remain relevant by doing the same thing it has done for 60 years while modern technology becomes more dynamic.

With its core business being mail conveyance, PCK has seen its major activities come under serious competition from electronic mail and the mobile phone Short Message Service.

KDN Chief Executive Officer, Kai Wulff said the move was not just a commercial venture but aims at providing best services to their consumers.

Wulff said customers will access the top up cards and access the butterfly hotspots facilities in all postal outlets in the major cities and towns countrywide.

"We aim to provide value as a communication infrastructure provider. We will continue to explore opportunities that guarantee the very best for our customers and partners", said Wulff.

The post master acknowledged that their revenue collection from individual mails is decreasing while that from corporate mails is realizing a growth rate of only 15 percent annually.

Posta pay which is a money transfer service that contributes 17 percent of PCK revenue has also seen intense competition from mobile phone money transfer services.

Odhiambo say with the introduction of the hybrid service the corporation intends to cut on expenses incurred while delivering mails to various post offices countrywide which consumes close to 70 percent of its earnings.

The launch of the fibre optic cable in the country that is expected to bring down the cost of internet makes an already bad situation worse for PCK.

Meanwhile, Kenya Data Network has signed an agreement with the Postal Corporation of Kenya to distribute top up scratch cards to KDN customers.

The cards that allow KDN customers to make voice over internet protocol calls and surf the Internet will be available in 800 of the PCK branches countrywide.

KDN chief executive officer Kai Wullf says this service will allow its customers to connect to the web anywhere using the scratch cards.

Postmaster General Fred Odhiambo said the partnership will help the mail firm diversify its operations in the country.