Iran Launches First Private Courier, Ends Gov’t Monopoly Over Postal Sector

Iran officially ended its decades-long monopoly over postal services as a first major private operator launched nationwide services.

The Post-e-Avval, the first privately-owned courier in Iran fully licensed by the government’s regulatory, was introduced to the public in a ceremony attended by Iran’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi.

“I hope that Post-e-Avval ... could offer services that Iranian people deserve,” he said addressing the ceremony on Monday.

Meantime, Head of Iran’s top regulatory organization Hossein Fallah said that the National Post Company of Iran would remain a major provider of mail services in the country where an estimated six billion postal deliveries are conducted each year.

“The regulatory had initially issued licenses for two private companies, including for Tipax, an old courier that has many branches across Iran. However, he said that the companies agreed to a merger to have a better share of the market,” he added.

Reports showed that Tipax would continue providing its 50-year-old package delivery service while its senior managers will sit on Post-e-Avval’s board.

Iran has a $1.7-billion postal sector although the state mail company has seen its share of the growing market reduced to only 15 percent.