Gylian Post and Telecommunications
| Public organisation (SP) | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Releş, Arsad , |
Area served | Gylias |
Number of employees | 550.000 (2020) |
| Website | http://www.pt.gls/ |
Gylian Post and Telecommunications (French reformed: Postes et Télécommunications Gyliennes), abbreviated P&T, is Gylias' national postal and telecommunications service.
P&T is a PTT-model public organisation. It has a national monopoly on the provision of postal services, telephone services, and internet infrastructure, and offers additional services such as postal savings and banking.
History
P&T was established in 1958. It legally succeeded the postal services that had developed in the Free Territories, which in turn had absorbed Alscia's Direzione Generale delle Poste, Telegrafi, e Telefonia (DGPTT).
The National Obligation period saw the consolidation and development of services. Postal codes were introduced and standardised, and the first stamps were issued. Airmail services began in coordination with Gyliair. Massive nationwide public works projects helped create a comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure.
P&T became a complex and financially successful organisation during the 1960s–1970s economic boom. It was one of the largest public organisations — alongside GNRTS and GNBS — and enjoyed great prestige.
Its federal monopoly on telecommunications services and infrastructure has driven significant innovations, including the introduction of automated mail sorters (1960s), the Infotel service (1980s), and a crucial role in the growth of the internet in Gylias (1990s).
The wretched decade caused a period of difficulties and setbacks for P&T, ultimately resolved by the restoration of public services' efficiency under the Filomena Pinheiro government, and the renewed economic growth of the 1990s. Although the early 1990s saw some discussion on rescinding P&T's telecommunications monopoly, the Mathilde Vieira government chose to retain and expand it to include the internet.
Organisation
P&T is a public organisation, overseen by the Ministry of Communications and Broadcasting. It is organised by workers' self-management, and managed by the Management Board.
The Management Board has 20 members, half of which are elected by workers' assemblies, and the other half are chosen through sortition from the populace to be representative of society. The worker assemblies also elect a 30-member Supervisory Board to oversee the workings of the Management Board.
The Management Board is accountable to the Supervisory Board and to the Ministry of Communications and Broadcasting. It sets objectives and strategy, assesses the performance of the company, addresses complaints, and appoints the Director and the Chair of the Management Board.
Elected members of the Management Board are elected to a five-year term, with no term limits. Allotted members of the Management Board are chosen yearly. Members of the Supervisory Board are elected annually without the possibility of immediate reelection.
P&T's headquarters are in Releş, Arsad, a symbolic choice due to the city's location at the confluence of the Elşeti and Rişys rivers, towards the geographic centre of Gylias.
Services
P&T provides the following services in Gylias:
- Postal services (including mail delivery, parcels, courier, and philately)
- Telephone services
- Postal banking services (including giro and postal savings systems)
- Maintenance of internet infrastructure
While P&T retains a complete monopoly on postal and telephone services, it only has a monopoly on national broadband and fiber-optic infrastructure, which it provides to utility cooperatives that provide internet services.
It issues stamps and administers the Gylian postal codes system. Postal codes are alphanumeric, using a combination of two-letter abbreviations for regions and four digits to represent location.
It coordinates with GNRTS and Gyliair to deliver mail by bus, train and air.
Beyond traditional communications services, P&T also provides several important community services. These include civil registration (in cooperation with municipalities), providing access to national accounts, voter registration and administering absentee and postal ballots, collecting license fees, providing daily weather and temperature checks for the National Meteorological Institute, and serving as civil celebrants.
It also notably preserves occupations that contribute to sociality, continuing to employ telephone operators and telegraphy operators, as well as maintaining public telephone booths.
Cultural significance
P&T is one of Gylias' largest public organisations and a significant presence in daily life. It is widely recognised for the efficiency of its services and enjoys a prestigious reputation similar to other public services such as GNRTS and Gyliair.
Its identity is reflected in a distinctive colour scheme and use of recognisable uniforms, which give P&T employment a reputation for glamour and trustworthiness.
Its philately is recognised for its influences from Gylian art and gauchic, and is prized by stamp collectors.
In common with other public service or sociality occupations such as elevator attendants, postal workers have been depicted in Gylian pop culture, including in genres such as orgone films, demopolitan-influenced films, and pornography.