Italians are starting to use certified email. This is attested by the Agency for Digital Italy which periodically publishes the statistics relating to the activations of the PEC. Based on the latest update referring to the two-month period November – December 2017, they matter in the period under consideration 8.880.630 active mailboxes. In this panorama, Aruba holds the record, with over 5 million activated mailboxes and a share of approximately 60% of the entire market.
The statistics published by AgID relating to the number of PEC messages exchanged also shows that in 2017 there were over 1 billion and 454 million messages, a clear increase compared to the previous period; from this, another even more impressive emerges, viz an average of almost 4 million PEC messages exchanged per day.
An ever higher number, taking into account the "young age" of the PEC. Its establishment dates back to twelve years ago: it is mandatory for companies and the Public Administration, and has now become commonly used even among private citizens. The Italian PEC today constitutes an exclusive service in the European panorama. As Aruba explains: “Its success is due to the fact that it is an alternative to the registered letter with return receipt – since it has the same legal value – but to send a message via PEC you don't need to leave your home or office, just a smartphone or a computer. No less important for diffusion was the low price: the PEC in fact costs as much annually as a couple of registered letters with return receipt, but allows unlimited messages to be sent”.
Another feature of the service lies in the fact that, compared to traditional means, the PEC not only certifies the transmission and successful delivery of a message, but also it also guarantees the integrity of the content making the tool even more versatile and suitable for various uses that go beyond the mere transmission of a message or a file.
In regulatory terms, Italy is doing a lot to encourage an ever greater use of the PEC by companies, professionals and the Public Administration.
But what can be done with the PEC? You can send private and business legal documents, exchange legally valid correspondence with INPS, INAIL, with schools or universities, communicate with local public bodies, participate in notices and tenders. Furthermore, requesting a change of residence, formally contesting unlawful conduct, communicating a state of illness, registering for competitions, canceling a contract, warning and putting a debtor in default, interrupting the statute of limitations, requesting a certificate from the Municipality or any PA , communicate a payment and be able to prove it, protect the copyright of a text and much more.
In this context Aruba “understands a strong growth in PEC mailbox activations by private citizens who currently represent 39% of the total, testifying to the fact that the PEC goes beyond purely professional use and that its low cost has not represented a barrier for adoption”, reads a note sent by the company.
