Business Editors

    STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 15, 1999--It's a page out of the legendary fable.

U.S. households with e-mail access said that getting hard copy mail from their mailbox is faster than getting and opening e-mail on their computer. This is a major finding of a survey of U.S. consumers on their preference between mail and e-mail commissioned by Pitney Bowes Mailing Systems, a division of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI).

The study found that the majority (55%) of the surveyed households with e-mail access believed that getting and opening their regular mail was faster than turning on a computer, connecting to a modem and opening e-mail in their home. Forty percent (40%) of respondents thought e-mail was faster, while 5% said there was no difference between mail and e-mail.

"People like mail because it is quick, easy and convenient," said Kevin Weiss, Vice President, Marketing, Pitney Bowes Mailing Systems. "The universality of mail makes it the obvious choice for consumers. The study also reflected a strong preference for postal mail when important messages and documents are involved, like letters, bills and financial statements."

The Pitney Bowes survey was conducted by International Communications Research (ICR) in March 1999 among 1,013 random, U.S. households. The study determined that 34% of those surveyed have access to e-mail at home; the statistics included in this release are based on that 34%.

Pitney Bowes is a $4.22 billion premier provider of informed mail and messaging management. For more information about the company, please visit our web site at: www.pitneybowes.com.

     --30--jp/ny*  sm
     
     CONTACT: Pitney Bowes, Inc. 
              Scott Tangney
              212/684-6300 
                  or       
              Jim Berkovich
              203/351-7514 
     
     KEYWORD: CONNECTICUT
     INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET COMED
COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS