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How long before our e-mail requires postage? By Michael C. Guilmette Jr. Originally published on March 25, 2004, in the Bay Mills News.
Aside from the speed that e-mail can reach its destination, this kind of correspondence is not a new idea. Starting as far back as clay tablets, written letters have always been the best way to communicate ideas over a long distance. However, speed is the key factor in the success of e-mail — and for some, a cause of concern. The ability to send written messages to far-flung locations — even the other side of the world — immediately has attracted millions of people to make use of e-mail. The ease and convenience of sending e-mail has vastly improved how well people can keep in touch. For example, when I was stationed in Korea in 1992, my best friend was stationed in Japan. Now, these were the pre-Internet days, and even though we had free postage between military bases, the amount of time it took to get a letter over the Sea of Japan was painfully slow — on the order of days or even weeks. Fast forward 12 years. I am here in Chippewa County and my friend has taken my place in Korea. However, now that we have e-mail, we are able to keep in touch much more regularly; on one particular day, we e-mailed each other six times within ten hours. (Dan, if you're reading this, hint hint.) There are innumerable examples of the advantages of e-mail, but few people stop to think about the consequences that electronic correspondence has brought about. In the years 1995-97, the United States General Accounting Office reported that the U.S. Postal Service lost $84.7 million, due in large part to a huge drop in First Class mail. This time period is significant because these were the days when the Internet was still catching on, and the number of Internet users was estimated to be less than 25 million. On March 18, Yahoo News reported that, according to a Nielsen/NetRatings survey, the number of Internet users in the United States in February 2004 topped 200 million — two of every three Americans. Now, this isn’t to say that the Internet is bringing about the demise of the Post Office — package mailings have actually increased, also due in part to the Internet. However, e-mail has made a monetary mark on the U.S. postal system, so much so that postal authorities are looking for alternate sources of revenue. An urban legend about Congress considering a five cent per e-mail surcharge to shore up the Post Office — the so called “602P Bill” — has been circulating for years. The rumor is so pervasive that in 2000, a hapless reporter asked U.S. Senate candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rick Lazio what their opinions were about the bill — for the record, both opposed the idea. 602P may be a hoax, but there may come a day when we will have to pay for each e-mail we send. In November 2003, Congress failed to extend the Internet tax moratorium signed into law two years earlier by President Bush, and earlier this month, Bill Gates suggested creating “e-mail stamps” as a strategy to cut down on spam e-mail. We already buy stamps to mail a “snail mail” letter and we also pay for long distance telephone calls, so it would not be much of a stretch for Internet service providers and government legislators to consider levying fees and taxes on e-mail, since it’s free and all. But e-mail really isn’t free. First, access to a computer is necessary, and an average system runs anywhere from $500 to $2,000, compared to $20 for a telephone or 20 cents for an envelope. Add to that the costs of Internet service and e-mail begins to be one of the more expensive means of communication. Eventually, e-mail may be supplanted by innovations such as Internet-based video phones and the like as technology improves, but tacking on fees could bring about an early demise for e-mail. • Mike Guilmette is a staff reporter/columnist with the Bay Mills News. His website can be seen at http://www.sigperl.com/. |
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Copyright © 2004, Michael C. Guilmette Jr. |
Many people believe that e-mail is one of the most important innovations of the last decade — and for many reasons, they are correct. Near instantaneous written communication has become an invaluable resource for not only personal use but also for business and government.
