Denmark has been at the vanguard when it comes to changes to letter delivery and digitisation of letter services. But new changes to the universal service obligation will have far-reaching implications for letter and parcel delivery in Denmark. Mindaugas Cerpickis and Jacob Østermann from Copenhagen Economics analyse the changes and implications for the postal world.

• Background to the USO being "abolished"
• Post Denmark's freedom to vary letter pricing and delivery schedules to save costs
• Digitisation of government communications
• USO as we know it being abolished
• Drastic letter volume declines
• Parcel volumes reaching parity with letter volumes
• Internet penetration in Denmark
• e-Boks digital mailbox
• Centralising government services
• Replacing USO with tender process for targeted services
• Market delivering services
• Post Danmark's ability to provide USO without government support
• EU Postal Services Directive and UPU requirements
• Three aspects of USO being put out to tender: island communities, services for the blind, and international mail
• Expectations that the market will cover the rest of the USO
• Letterboxes and parcel lockers in island communities
• Universal access to delivery infrastructure
• Monitoring the market to see if there are any shortcomings in providing letter services
• Could the Danish model be used in other postal markets?
• Future of postal regulation
• Understanding social expectations of postal services