[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73468-73469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26075]


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POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 121


Service Standards for Market-Dominant Mail Products

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule adds a service standard for 
ConnectTM Local Mail to the set of service standards for 
First-Class Mail set forth in our regulations.

DATES: Effective date: January 22, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Pigott, 202-268-4031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    On November 10, 2021, the Postal Service filed a notice in Docket 
No. MT2022-1 announcing its intent to conduct a market test of an 
experimental product denominated as USPS ConnectTM Local 
Mail and demonstrated that the market test would comply with applicable 
legal requirements. The Postal Regulatory Commission found that the 
market test met the requirements of 39 U.S.C. 3641 and 39 CFR part 3045 
and authorized the market test to proceed in Order No. 6080 on January 
4, 2022.
    The Postal Service initially introduced its test of USPS 
ConnectTM Local Mail in Texas to align with its nationwide 
rollout of the corresponding packages product, USPS 
ConnectTM Local. By the end of the second quarter, which 
ended March 31, 2022, USPS ConnectTM Local Mail was offered 
as a market test product in 11 states. Another 16 states were added in 
the third quarter; 23 more were added in the fourth quarter. Once the 
initial phased national rollout was complete, USPS ConnectTM 
Local Mail was offered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
    The Postal Service is now seeking to classify USPS 
ConnectTM Local Mail as a permanent classification in the 
Mail Classification Schedule (MCS). The Postal Service has thus 
requested that the service be listed in the MCS under the First-Class 
Mail class in Postal Regulatory Commission Docket No. MC2023-12. 
Assuming the changes are adopted in accordance with the expected date 
of implementation of January 22, 2023, the Postal Service plans to add 
USPS ConnectTM Local Mail as a price category within First-
Class Mail Flats. USPS ConnectTM Local Mail will provide 
customers same-day or next-day options for local delivery of documents. 
USPS ConnectTM Local Mail requires local induction through 
dropoff at a participating Destination Delivery Unit (DDU), or carrier 
pick-up in line-of-travel to a participating DDU. Documents accepted by 
the Postal Service at a participating DDU by 7 a.m. will receive a same 
day service standard, while mailpieces received after 7 a.m. at a 
participating DDU or by carrier pick-up will receive a one day service 
standard (i.e., they will be eligible for delivery the following 
delivery day).

II. Explanation of Final Rule

    The Postal Service's market-dominant service standards are 
contained in 39 CFR part 121. The revisions to 39 CFR part 121 appear 
at the end of this document. The following is a summary of the 
revisions.

A. Service Standards Generally

    Service standards contain two components: (1) a delivery day range 
within which mail in a given product is expected to be delivered; and 
(2) business rules that determine, within a product's applicable day 
range, the specific number of delivery days after acceptance of a mail 
piece by which a customer can expect that piece to be delivered, based 
on the piece's point of entry into the mail stream and its delivery 
address.
    Business rules are based on critical entry times (CETs). The CET is 
the latest time on a particular day that a mail piece can be entered 
into the postal network and still have its service standard calculated 
based on that day (this day is termed ``day-zero''). In other words, if 
a piece is entered before the CET, its service standard is calculated 
from the day of entry, whereas if it is entered after the CET, its 
service standard is calculated from the following day. (If the 
following day is a Sunday or holiday, then the service standard is 
calculated from the next Postal Service delivery day.) For example, if 
the applicable CET is 5:00 p.m., and a letter is entered at 4:00 p.m. 
on a Tuesday, its service standard will be calculated from Tuesday, 
whereas if the letter is entered at 6:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, its service 
standard will be calculated from Wednesday. CETs are not contained in 
39 CFR part 121, because they vary based on where mail is entered, the 
mail's level of preparation, and other factors.

B. USPS ConnectTM Local Mail

    USPS ConnectTM Local Mail will be offered as a price 
category under First-Class Mail Flats. It is intended for local 
document delivery. Customers will be

[[Page 73469]]

able to deposit USPS ConnectTM Local Mail items at 
participating destination delivery units (DDUs) or present them to mail 
carriers along their lines of travel to participating DDUs.
    USPS ConnectTM Local Mail will receive either a same-day 
or a 1-day (i.e., next-delivery day) service standard, depending on 
whether it is accepted at a participating DDU by the CET of 7:00 a.m. 
USPS ConnectTM Local Mail accepted by the Postal Service at 
a participating DDU by the applicable CET will receive a same day 
service standard, while mailpieces received after applicable CET at a 
participating DDU or by carrier pick-up will receive a one day service 
standard.
    Payment for USPS ConnectTM Local Mail will be offered 
via Click N Ship and by USPS API as well. Tracking will be offered to 
USPS ConnectTM Local Mail customers using IMpb barcodes.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 121

    Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.

    Accordingly, for the reasons stated, the Postal Service adopts the 
following amendment to 39 CFR part 121:

PART 121--SERVICE STANDARDS FOR MARKET-DOMINANT MAIL PRODUCTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 121 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 1001, 3691.

0
2. Section 121.1 is amended by redesignating paragraphs (a) through (g) 
as paragraphs (b) through (h), respectively, and adding a new paragraph 
(a) to read as follows:


Sec.  121.1   First-Class Mail.

    (a) A same day service standard is applied to USPS 
ConnectTM Local Mail pieces properly accepted at 
participating Destination Delivery Units before the day-zero Critical 
Entry Time (CET); a one day service standard is applied to USPS 
ConnectTM Local Mail pieces accepted via carrier pick-up or 
properly accepted at participating Destination Delivery Units after the 
day-zero CET.
* * * * *

0
3. Appendix A to part 121 is revised to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 121--Tables Depicting Service Standard Day Ranges

    The following tables reflect the service standard day ranges 
resulting from the application of the business rules applicable to 
the market-dominant mail products referenced in Sec. Sec.  121.1 
through 121.4 (for purposes of this part, references to the 
contiguous states also include the District of Columbia):
    Table 1. End-to-end service standard day ranges for mail 
originating and destinating within the contiguous 48 states and the 
District of Columbia.

                    Table 1--Contiguous United States
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              End-to-end
                         Mail class                             range
                                                                (days)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
First-Class Mail *.........................................          1-5
Periodicals................................................          3-9
USPS Marketing Mail........................................         3-10
Package Services...........................................          2-8
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Excluding USPS Connect\TM\ Local Mail.

    Table 2. End-to-end service standard day ranges for mail 
originating and/or destinating in non-contiguous states and 
territories.

                                                     Table 2--Non-Contiguous States and Territories
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                End-to-end
                                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Intra state/territory           To/from contiguous 48 states       To/from states of Alaska and
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------------   Hawaii, and the territories of
                                                                                                                        Guam, Puerto Rico (PR), American
                                                                                                                          Samoa (AS), Northern Mariana
                   Mail class                                                                                            Islands (MP), and U.S. Virgin
                                                              Hawaii,                            Hawaii,                         Islands (USVI)
                                                   Alaska   Guam, MP, &  PR & USVI    Alaska   Guam, MP, &  PR & USVI ----------------------------------
                                                                 AS                                 AS                              Hawaii,
                                                                                                                         Alaska   Guam, MP, &  PR & USVI
                                                                                                                                       AS
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First-Class Mail *.............................        1-4          1-4        1-2        4-5          4-5        4-5          5            5          5
Periodicals....................................        3-5          3-5          3      13-19        12-22      11-16      21-25        21-26      23-26
USPS Marketing Mail............................        3-5          3-5        3-4      14-20        13-23      12-17      23-26        23-27      24-27
Package Services...............................     ** 2-4          2-4        2-3      12-18        11-21      10-15      21-26        20-26      20-24
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* Excluding USPS ConnectTM Local Mail.
** Excluding bypass mail.


Sarah Sullivan,
Attorney, Ethics and Legal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022-26075 Filed 11-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P