37.— (1) A postal service is within the scope of the universal postal service (in this Part referred to as a “postal service within the scope of the universal postal service”) if—

(a) the service is within the description of the universal postal service set out in section 16,

(b) the service would be within the description of the universal postal service set out in section 16 but for the fact that—

(i) in the case of a service consisting of the clearance and delivery of postal packets, the clearance or delivery is not made on every working day as required by section 16 (1) (a),

(ii) the service is not provided throughout the State, or

(iii) the service is not provided at an affordable price in accordance with a uniform tariff applicable throughout the State pursuant to section 28 (2),

or

(c) the postal service is of a kind that, having regard to postal service users, could reasonably be said to be interchangeable with a service of a description set out in section 16,

but does not include a document exchange or express or courier services.

(2) The Commission shall, not later than 3 months after the passing of this Act, publish guidelines concerning postal services within the scope of the universal postal service to which persons shall have regard when making a notification under section 38, in particular concerning—

(a) whether a postal service has the characteristics set out in section 16(1) or would have these characteristics if it were offered on the days specified in section 16(1)(a) throughout the State,

(b) whether a postal service has characteristics that postal service users may reasonably perceive it to be interchangeable with a service of a description set out in section 16, and

(c) the characteristics of the postal service itself, including the value added features, intended use and price.

(3) In this section a reference to a postal service includes a part of a postal service.

(4) In this section “document exchange” means provision of means, including the supply of premises specifically for that purpose and transportation by a third party, allowing self-delivery by mutual exchange of postal packets between persons subscribing to this service.