Postal delivery company PostNL must continue to give regional business post companies access to its network of delivery points, sorting offices and delivery workers, the Dutch consumer association ACM said on Friday.

The ACM based its preliminary decision on an analysis of the postal market, and said PostNL cannot differentiate between post from its own clients and its competitors.

The ACM says regional providers are important because as competitors to PostNL, they allow business companies to benefit from better service and lower costs. However, they are dependent on PostNL for deliveries outside their own network.

PostNL is the only company with a nationwide network, the ACM said.

Postal companies now have six weeks to react to the ACM’s position before it publishes its final recommendations.