Post office electronically tags letters, parcels

14 March 2007

MADRID – The post office is electronically tagging some letters and parcels to make sure they get to their intended recipients.

In the first scheme of its kind in Europe, Correos has begun to electronically tag the mail to cut costs and improve efficiency.

The system, which is being used in a pioneering project involving 10,000 letters a month, involves tagging mail with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to allow it to be tracked electronically.

The Spanish daily El Pais reported on Wednesday the system may be expanded.

Correos has spent one million euros installing 1,900 antennas and 330 tag readers at 16 automated mail sorting centres around the country

It plans to use the system mainly with parcel services.

In an effort to dispel concerns of a Big Brother-type scheme, Correos says no personal information about the sender or the recipient is exchanged.

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Subject: Spanish news