Telstra has become the first announced customer for Australia Post's planned digital mailbox service and will also host the service on its cloud computing infrastructure.
The service, announced in April will be based on the Pitney Bowes Volly digital mailbox technology. It will enable organisations that have traditionally sent out paper bills and other similar important communications to customers to deliver these into a secure digital mailbox that each customer will be able to access.
Pitney Bowes launched the Volly service in the US in early 2011 and said that Australia Post was the first national postal service to sign up to use it.
(Australia Post was pipped at the post by private enterprise. Digital Post Australia - a joint venture between Computershare, Salmat and US based company Zumbox Software - announced plans for a digital mailbox service in mid March).
Australia Post and Telstra have signed a memorandum of understanding that will enable Australia Post to offer Telstra customers access to their Telstra communication documents like account statements and bills via the Australia Post Digital MailBox and under which "Telstra will provide the capability to deliver more products and services through the Australia Post IT network, which will assist in the roll out of Australia Post's retail superstores across the country," Australia Post said.
Telstra will also "work with Australia Post towards an agreement for the Digital MailBox service to be hosted on Telstra's Australian based secure cloud computing platform (Telstra last year announced plans to invest $800m over five years in cloud computing infrastructure).
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Tracking the telecoms industry since 1989, Stuart has been awarded Journalist Of The Year by the Australian Telecommunications Users Group (twice) and by the Service Providers Action Network. In 2010 he received the 'Kester' lifetime achievement award in the Consensus IT Writers Awards and was made a Lifetime Member of the Telecommunications Society of Australia. He was born in the UK, came to Australia in 1980 and has been here ever since.
