In 2022 there were some changes at Deutsche Post. At the end of the year, the company is saying goodbye to a service that has existed since the 19th century.
We’re talking about the telegram. Once very popular and indispensable for the transmission of fast messages, it has lost much of its relevance today due to digitization. The demand for the service is so low that Deutsche Post will discontinue the telegram on December 31, 2022.
In Germany, the first telegram was already sent in the middle of the 19th century. In times when only a few households even had a private telephone, messages could be forwarded to the recipient in a very short time. But even with the spread of the telephone, the telegram remained popular. According to the Deutsche Bundespost, 13 million telegrams were sent within Germany in 1978.
Telegram – unpopular, outdated and far too expensive
However, if you want to send messages quickly today, you use other methods. SMS, Messenger, e-mails and other digital options have long since replaced the well-known telegram. Many only know the offer from films. Telegram is also not attractive to many users due to the high cost. If you still want to send a telegram, you pay aloud at Deutsche Post website 12.57 euros for the mini version with 160 characters or 17.89 euros for the maxi version with 480 characters. The prettier version with a decorative leaf costs even more – senders have to pay EUR 16.67 or EUR 21.98 for this.
The costs are immense considering that 160 characters correspond to the length of an SMS. There are now hardly any situations in which the personal delivery of such a short message by postman is likely to be relevant. The demand for a telegram has been correspondingly low in recent years. Opposite the portal “package daAlexander Edenhofer from Deutsche Post confirmed that the Telegram product would be discontinued at the end of the year. Anyone who sends a telegram now can only choose December 29, 30 or 31, 2022 as the delivery date.
Further changes at Deutsche Post
A lot has changed at Deutsche Post this year – and not just for the better. For example, the E-Post letter was discontinued at the end of November. In recent months there has also been increasing criticism of delivery times being too long. In many places, the postman no longer delivers the mail every day, in some cases the letters even come via the parcel delivery service. This so-called combined delivery reduces personnel costs and is particularly practical in large cities, where parcel couriers regularly make their rounds. The reason for the change in the Deutsche Post delivery system is the decline in letter mail. For recipients, however, it means that they often have to wait longer for their mail. Numerous postmen could also lose their jobs as a result of the expansion of combined delivery; TECHBOOK reported.
As an alternative, Swiss Post is now also planning letter delivery to Packstations, which is already possible for large-format letters. This type of delivery saves time for the couriers, as they no longer have to go to every individual mailbox. At the same time, Deutsche Post wants to become more digital and offer its customers new services. For example, they can frank their mail online and without stamps, find out about letters that are on the way and even read them in advance as a PDF.
All of these changes show that Deutsche Post is in a state of upheaval. The delivery of letters is no longer lucrative, instead digital offers are becoming increasingly important. The end for the more than 170-year-old telegram thus seems to be a logical and expected step.