Text Messages To Replace Stamps In Sweden

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Text Messages To Replace Stamps In Sweden

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday March 9, 2011 @07:51PM from the mobile-licking dept.

99luftballon writes "Sweden and Denmark are running tests on replacing stamps with text messages. The writer sends a text message to a central server, which bills for the stamp and returns a code to be written on the letter. It's an interesting system but it better have very good security. Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?"

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Nice to get this from slashdot by emj · 2011-03-09 19:52 · Score: 2

Kinda makes me wonder if I should read more newspapers here in Sweden.
1. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by Ahhrg · 2011-03-09 20:36 · Score: 2
  
  Why not start with some of the most well known ones? All published a couple of days before ./ Not sure about the printed versions, but DN definitely had the it. DN, Aftonbladet, SvD, Expressen.
2. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by Menkhaf · 2011-03-09 23:48 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Det blev faktisk dækket af Ing.dk i går aftes: http://ing.dk/artikel/117178-post-danmark-klar-med-sms-frimaerker
  
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3. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by Menkhaf · 2011-03-09 23:55 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I guess it could be considered rude to speak something other than English here, so I'll provide a translation before I get lynched:
  "It was actually covered by Ing.dk (online newspaper driven by a big Engineering Association in Denmark) last evening: http://translate.google.com/translate?tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fing.dk%2Fartikel%2F117178-post-danmark-klar-med-sms-frimaerker&act=url "
  
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4. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by rajanala83 · 2011-03-10 00:46 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  A system like this, operated by the Deutsche Post in Germany, is working since over a year. Works like a charm. Fast & Reliable. Almost, but not entirely, unlike Slasdot editors.
5. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by PopeRatzo · 2011-03-10 00:59 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I guess it could be considered rude to speak something other than English here
  It's considered rude to speak something other than English anywhere.
  
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  You are welcome on my lawn.
6. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by nospam007 · 2011-03-10 01:42 · Score: 2
  
  It's just for the casual user who never knows where he put his stamps, since he sends only a letter every couple of years nowadays.
  For business it's old news.
  "In 1999 Stamps.com became the first organization to be licensed by the United States Postal Service to print valid postage from a traditional PC printer. Their system allows the user to automatically download and print postage directly onto an envelope or "Netstamp""
  https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Postage_meter#Internet-_and_stamp_based_meters
7. Re:Nice to get this from slashdot by tehcyder · 2011-03-10 04:53 · Score: 2
  
  Who sends actual letters ;-)
  People who use stamps.
  
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Good luck with that by mwvdlee · 2011-03-09 19:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

The code has to be a certain length in order to be unique, it has to be complex enough to take a while to crack, but write down one digit wrong (or slighly unreadable) and the code is invalid.

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1. Re:Good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-09 20:15 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  It's already proven technology here. The facts speak for themselves. You can buy subway, train, and bus tickets via SMS here, and it works pretty well. I don't see how applying the same concept to mail could go wrong. No one is going to be writing the numbers down, instead people will just show their cell phone screen to the post office agent, who will then type in the code in their system and validate it. Think of it as a unique barcode, like the ones you get on e-tickets when you fly, or when you buy tickets for a concert.
  It has to be complex enough to crack? I'm not following you on this, though. The only possible thing that migh thappen is having someone looking at your cell phone screen and using your code, but I suppose that's unlikely.
  I welcome this change. It's going to make things much more practical.
2. Re:Good luck with that by seifried · 2011-03-09 20:45 · Score: 2
  
  Uhmm. Unless the power/phones are out for over a day the inherent delays in sending physical mail will vastly outweigh the time you spend waiting to get a "stamp". Personally I like what we have in Canada, "permanent" stamps, they're good forever. http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/productsservices/atoz/permanentstamp.jsf. So no worry about needing to buy those one penny or whatever stamps the next time rates go up.
3. Re:Good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-09 20:53 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Pre-printing envelopes with individual QR codes that you scan with your phone and then send to the central server to activate that QR code as postage would seem to be an easier solution for the consumer.
4. Re:Good luck with that by aliquis · 2011-03-09 20:54 · Score: 2
  
  Except you used to leave letters in a box, not at a post office.
  Not that I see much purpose for sending letters at all nowadays. Regardless we kinda don't have any post offices longer either, just "service offices" at random stores and what not but I guess you could leave the letters there.
  But if you have to go there with the letter and show the SMS it's not that much different from buying a stamp. Somewhat more convenient but not as convenient as dropping in the box I guess.
5. Re:Good luck with that by rolfwind · 2011-03-09 21:56 · Score: 2
  
  Certified Mail is highly useful for legal matters.
  My parent's ebay business is only viable because of USPS.
6. Re:Good luck with that by PhilHibbs · 2011-03-09 22:05 · Score: 2
  
  They could use a subset of the alphabet containing characters that are hard to confuse with each other, e.g. if they use C then they should not use G, same for B and D, O and Q. So even if you only have, say, a 16 letter alphabet, a 5 character code has a million possibilities. Make it a 10 character code and you could even include redundancy to cope with a single character being illegible.
7. Re:Good luck with that by narcc · 2011-03-09 22:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Pre-printing envelopes with individual QR codes that you scan with your phone and then send to the central server to activate that QR code as postage would seem to be an easier solution for the consumer.
  How is that an easier solution for the consumer? Rather than needing a common dumb-phone, the user would need a smartphone with a camera, QR code software, and the knowledge to put it all together.
  It seems like your pre-printed QR code system would only benefit the automated machinery at the post-office.
  Besides, if you were planning to go through all the trouble to pre-print codes on the envelopes, why not just add the cost of postage to the cost of the envelopes and skip the whole 'activation' bit?
  Better yet, since we're printing things, why not print a whole bunch of codes on a large sheet instead of on individual envelopes? Just Image: If you perforate the sheet and add an adhesive backing, the customer need only tear off one of the "tokens" and stamp it to an inexpensive envelope.
  To save some extra cash, instead of unique codes (and a monstrous computer system to keep track of them all), we could make all the "tokens" uniform. Like a picture -- We could even have more than one. For security, we could add some luminescent ink or micro-printing.
  If your token pictures are interesting enough, I'll bet you'll have people buying whole sheets every time you issue a new image just to collect them. That's basically free money.
  Yes, I think that's a much better idea.
  
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8. Re:Good luck with that by Kjella · 2011-03-09 22:49 · Score: 2
  
  You have no idea how often people would get their credit card number wrong if there wasn't a) a check digit and b) if it fails, you get an instant response. Mail typically gets there even if you typo the zip code as the postal office will typically work it out as long as the street and city is correct. Or if you misspell the street. Obviously they don't know what house number you live in, but the mail service is pretty forgiving.
  Typo the payment code? You'll never know until the recipient gets it with an "invalid postage code, please pay up or return this letter/package unopened to the post office". That's pretty inconvienient all around.
  
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9. Re:Good luck with that by Candid88 · 2011-03-09 23:07 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Of course, because you don't use snail mail much, why would anyone else in the world ever want to?
10. Re:Good luck with that by chrb · 2011-03-10 00:31 · Score: 2
  
  write down one digit wrong (or slighly unreadable) and the code is invalid.
  Not necessarily true. I would assume that they built some redundancy in to the actual code. Also, who says that the code is numeric? I would assume it is alphanumeric, as the OCR systems are already capable of reading alphanumeric addresses etc.
Fraud by StripedCow · 2011-03-09 20:03 · Score: 3, Interesting

Just wait until a postman copies the code to a package of his own, and just destroys the original package.

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1. Re:Fraud by 91degrees · 2011-03-09 20:14 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  That's quite a high risk for few krona worth of postage.
2. Re:Fraud by robinvanleeuwen · 2011-03-09 21:14 · Score: 2
  
  Just wait until the postman strips the stamps of your mail and glues them on his own package and destroys yours!!!
  
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Privacy by zokahn · 2011-03-09 20:04 · Score: 2

Poststamps are anonymous, sms certainly is not. I believe that, doing it like this is expensive and traceble. Then again i have not send any snailmail in a long, long time. So i should not be the one to cry about it. Zokahn
I've always said it by DrXym · 2011-03-09 20:05 · Score: 4, Funny

Philately will get you nowhere.
Philately by vagabond_gr · 2011-03-09 20:07 · Score: 3, Funny

Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?
Not really.
Btw I'm selling the following RARE swedish stamp:
67XX5768XX34XX4233 (digits hidden for security reasons).
Anyone interested?
Making it easier for bigbrother by pinkishpunk · 2011-03-09 20:10 · Score: 2

Great way to track peoples communication, you order the stamp with your mobil phone, so unless its a prepaid they can now check who you send snailmails to easy.
no by phantomfive · 2011-03-09 20:33 · Score: 3, Insightful

Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?"
No. It's the beginning of the rise in value of my stamp collection. :)

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Wow, that gives me lots ideas! by famebait · 2011-03-09 21:01 · Score: 2

* Powertools will get your stone axe sharper, quicker! * Put your horse and carriage on a freight-train for greater speed! * Sending my telegrams would be so much quicker if I could just order them from my iPhone!

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sudo ergo sum
1. Re:Wow, that gives me lots ideas! by nickruiz · 2011-03-09 22:26 · Score: 2
  
  * Powertools will get your stone axe sharper, quicker! * Put your horse and carriage on a freight-train for greater speed! * Sending my telegrams would be so much quicker if I could just order them from my iPhone!
  Until e-Cards become popular for birthdays (fat chance) and contracts are completely digitized, snail mail isn't going anywhere and thus this isn't a bad idea.
Re:Written? by Eudial · 2011-03-09 21:19 · Score: 2

Those are the letters that the machine scanning fails to process.

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Ok option, not as requirement by Remloc · 2011-03-09 22:05 · Score: 2

Many totally tech capable people (raises hand to indicate self) may be technically adept, building their own 'puters, posting to /., etc. etc., yet don't own a cell 'phone, much less one capable of text messaging because they hate them. Every 'phone I own has a cord to the wall. Does that mean I'm no longer allowed to send mail?