Text Rip-Off? Pricey Messages 'Cost Virtually Nothing' to Carriers

right now consumers have a choice... its called metro pcs... i have 5 lines for under 130(inlcuding tax) included unlimited txt msges and unlimited calling.. you can even bring your existing phone from verizon or sprint and metro will program it to work on there network.. also metro is now nation wide calling... so why in the world would you pay close to 100 bucks a line for limited mins and txt messages? metropcs has excellent call quality. it actually runs on verizon towers..

Hello, Icarus Rising,
The cell phone industry collectively expects subscribers to believe that management of text messaging is labor intensive! This is similiar to the TELCO attitude, connecting a new subscriber is so labor intensive that they're doing us a favor by only charging us $60+ for the hookup.

It does seem quite expensive at 20 cents per text message. One side thinks they are ripping people off and the other side says they have to pay their employees somehow. I wonder why it is just now coming to light that they are overpriced. Could there be a conspiracy to mandate that all text messages are considered free of charge because they are regarded as a human basic need? If text messages were free of charge a greater amount of people would message and that would be more info the spy agencies could gather. Just a thought.

At 20 cents per text message that is a complete and utter rip off. Everyone would be better off grabbing a family package. If you use thousands of text messages you end up paying less than 10 cents per text! Easiest way to save there, but in respect I guess they could go on the theory labor is involved somehow and they need to be payed as well..

SMS = text-based data transfer communication

Email = text-based data transfer communication

Of course it's a rip-off...it always has been. Think about it, you don't pay for every email you send do you?

Text messaging has been called the 'most profitable business of the technology revolution' and I would have to agree. It most definitely is.

Can't believe how much some of you are paying for this stuff.

I'm on a pretty basic service - about 10 bucks a month for my plan, and I've got unlimited text to other softbank phones, and it's 0.2¥/packet to everyone else (about $0.002 for 120 characters, if I've got that right).

Originally posted by die_another_day
I don't text message, I don't expect anyone smart to do so.

Do you use email?

Explain the difference.

Ahead of the curb?

This was news some years ago. The result in Denmark was a reduction of the price of texts at some companies by 80%.
The cheapest ones cost around 2 cents at the dollar's current value.

Strange it didn't catch on in the states till now.

I just don't get it. I seen in my contract when I signed it what a text message cost. I think it's a little overpriced but I don't use it much so no big deal I'd wager the free long distance I use the living hell out of offsets the 15 cents I pay for a text message every couple months. All that equipment as well as people to monitor it, upgrade it to keep up with an ever growing bunch of 14 year olds that have thumb calices like a guitarist. And we all know Americans wont work for free.

Hell, I killed my land line a couple years ago. Unlimited long distance was a lot more expensive.

Ur really in the dark if you think text-messages are rip off... Did you know your paying for such features like call display up to 8$ per month for something that comes built-in the switches by the manufacturer of the switch. Which probaly was bought and paid about 20 years ago is nothing more then about 8 digits of code that takes a guy about 10 seconds to type 1 time when they set you up in their system??? Pure profit...

Second on long distance or cellphone often you'll be paying for network access fee something like 2-3$ on long distance and 6.95$ on cellphone. I dont know if any realised this but thats a charge to give you access to the to the network of the service you are already paying for??? Thats only legal yet because CRTC as not regulated it yet but its a known rip-off and nothing more then BS.

and there's just soooo much more I wont type cuz im writing this from work and I work for a telephone compagny and i signed a contract which limit what i can say and i know they log LOTS of stuff from out PC so...

I have a 4GB usb memory stick I use for a key chain... It can hold 4,018,126,848 bytes (WTF is up with that!? that's only 3.74GB! that's another scandal I paid for 4GB!)

This is from the second page, but you didn't get ripped off. It's only 3.74 gigabytes to the operating system, because the memory industry uses 1 000 000 000 bytes as a gigabyte, but a computer sees a gigabyte as 1 073 741 824 bytes. So it's the same amount of space, but the real amount (that the computer uses) is 3.74 gigabytes.

Kind of off topic, but I just thought I'd clear it up.

[edit on 31-12-2008 by Totakeke]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but snail mail has almost disappeared (US Postal Service) and now Text Messaging will be replacing WESTERN UNION LoL !

There is little or no cost to sending Text Messages on Cell phones. Its just another way for them to get more of your hard earned dollars out of your pocket for a service they should be offering for FREE !

Its going to come down to a REVOLT over it sooner or later. We could JAM up their systems in retaliation for their unfair and unethical business practices on Text Messaging by having everyone in the world create massive Texts at the same time.

Tons of ignorance here. It's not some crazy conspiracy to take your money [snip]. Cell phone providers actually lose money when you pay for your monthly phone bill (cell towers, etc are really, really expensive) so they make up the cost by overcharging things like text messages and games.

If you regulate the cost of text messages, you'll just see your monthly cell phone bill go up 2 or 3 times in amount because the phone company will have to make up the costs.

It's close to how video game system manufacturers lose up to hundreds of dollars for each system sold but make up the cost with the games they sell.

Or how GM loses money for each car sold due to union costs and.. wait they never made that money back lol.

[edit on 12/31/08 by RedDragon]

[edit on 12/31/08 by RedDragon]


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[edit on 31-12-2008 by 12m8keall2c]

reply to post by Icarus Rising

SMS technology was incorporated in cell phone technology as a diagnostic/service facility originally. Exploitation as a messaging and a billing system kicked off in Europe in a big way in 2000. 'Reverse billing' where you subscribe to a 'service' is a huge cash generator. Using UK currency, if you are charged £1 for a message then the mobile operator pays the 'service provider' around 78p in revenue and retains 12p for use of the network gateway. I created and ran one premium rate mobile service that did 600,000 messages per month at a £1 tarrif. Everything was automated and unattended - the initial 'start-up' costs were less than $1000.
Do the figures for 'voting' applications on TV channels and you can see the revenue created for the program companies.
smokedrago

Surely the icing on the cake is the profits?

Vodafone Announces Results for the Year Ended 31 March 2008

27 May 2008

Key highlights (1):

* Group revenue of £35.5 billion, an increase of 14.1%, with organic growth of 4.2%
o Europe: 2.0% revenue growth, with outgoing usage up 20.1% and data revenue up 35.7%, all on an organic basis
o EMAPA: revenue growth of 45.1%, reflecting acquisitions in India and Turkey. Organic growth of 14.5%
o Group data revenue up 52.7% to £2.2 billion, with organic growth of 40.6%
* Group adjusted operating profit up by 5.7% to £10.1 billion
o Group EBITDA up 10.2% to £13.2 billion
o Verizon Wireless operating profit up 20.3%, driven by 14.5% revenue growth, both in local currency
* Free cash flow of £5.5 billion, with European capital intensity of 9.9% (2). Net cash flow from operations of £10.5 billion
* Adjusted earnings per share up by 11.0% to 12.50 pence. Basic earnings per share of 12.56 pence
* Full year adjusted effective tax rate lower than previously indicated at around 28%
* Proportionate mobile customer base of 260 million at 31 March 2008

reply to post by kozmo


Technically you may be right about the small percentage of US households owning "stocks" - BUT - a much higher percentage have investments in 401k and other retirement type funds where a holding company owns the actual "shares" of stock.

I'm still stunned at all of the people crying on here about getting ripped off over text messaging. It's a service offered to you the customer. If you don't want it, don't purchase it. For godsakes people start your own Fing company and sell text messaging at the price you think is ethical.

You don't need text messaging to survive day to day. The market will decide the price. If people are paying for it at the current price, why change? The whole goal of your company is to increase profits. You don't set out to be some bloody Robin Hood text messaging provider for the masses.

The prices have been dropping due to market pressure. If you use text messaging just go with an unlimited plan and save the whining for something more important.

I think that you should remove their powers by not getting into contracts just 'Pay as you go'. I really believe that the mobile phone will be the next Cancer carrier like Smoking and I've heard its the perfect tracing device much better than the RFID chips that haven't been easy to be foisted on us.

reply to post by on_yur_6

The market will decide the price. If people are paying for it at the current price, why change? The whole goal of your company is to increase profits.

I'm still stunned that you don't get it. You probably think its ok to rob Peter to pay Paul, too.

Why change? Because its unethical, and unethical business practices are bad for the industry, and bad for the economy as a whole. Left unchecked, unethical business practices such as this force the rest of the industry to follow suit or go out of business. Project the ripple effect across the entire economy, and you end up with the situation we are facing today. The whole system starts to collapse like a house of cards.

This is a reverse Robin Hood scenario. The rich are stealing from the poor, which is how most of them got rich to begin with. Lets all rip each other off and see where we end up. In a dog eat dog world, you end up without any dogs.

reply to post by Icarus Rising


Well I guess we will both just be stunned. I consider text messaging a nonessential. You don't need it to survive or function through the day. It's basically a luxury item. It a service offered to customers at a set price. Who cares what the company charges. If it costs too much then go with another carrier. Because someone else will lower their price to attract a customer. Nobody has a monopoly on text messaging.

It just seems so simple to me. I've said it time and time again. If you don't want it, don't use it. Nobody is holding a gun to your head telling you to text message and you are mandated to pay a certain price. The whole thing is optional. It's your choice! I know that's a crazy concept. For some, life would be so much easier if government would just take care of everything for them.

OBTW how is it stealing when you sign up for the service? Again it comes down to personal responsibility and choice. No poor person was forced to use text messaging.

[edit on 31-12-2008 by on_yur_6]