"The United States followed suit in 2006..."
While in 2006 Western Union stopped handling telegrams, the business was sold not discontinued.
There are two companies providing this service. International Telegram took over the Western Union Service, but American Telegram is another company in the business.
The official time stamp on a telegram is valid in court for purposes of contract law regardless of delivery method, in fact cancelling time share agreements is a common use of telegrams.
Like paging, the telegram business is healthy but smaller than it once was. The service has evolved significantly with classic and contemporary entry and delivery methods.
Telegrams can be delivered in one or more methods:
- Traditional Hand Delivery
- Postal Delivery
- Telephone (an operator calls and reads the telegram to you)
- Fax (the telegram is transmitted to your fax machine).
- Email: Yes, even email delivery of a telegram is available. Telegrams, even if delivered by email are kept on file by the telegraph (Morse isn't used BTW) for legal verification purposes.