SMS 4x More Expensive Than Data From Hubble

paradoxSpirit writes "Physorg has a paper comparing the cost of text messaging versus the cost of getting data from Hubble Space Telescope. From the article: 'The maximum size for a text message is 160 characters, which takes 140 bytes because there are only 7 bits per character in the text messaging system, and we assume the average price for a text message is 5p. There are 1,048,576 bytes in a megabyte, so that's 1 million/140 = 7490 text messages to transmit one megabyte. At 5p each, that's £374.49 [$732.95] per MB — or about 4.4 times more expensive than the 'most pessimistic' estimate for Hubble Space Telescope transmission costs." "Hubble is by no means a cheap mission — but the mobile phone text costs were pretty astronomical!""

Comments

ET

[Davemania]

No Wonder ET wants to call home

Re:Math is HARD

[LMacG]

> Did you include your name and the class number in the word count for your papers in college?

Hell yes! Month day and year, too.

Re:This just in...

[caluml]

... $120... $130... $140... But not for long!

So is this the time to bring up ...

[SengirV]

Printer ink versus a gallon of gas?

Re:So is this the time to bring up ...

[raynet]

I think soon it might be cheaper to drive with non-branded printer ink.

Re:Math is HARD

[punkass]

"On this most glorious Twelfth Day of May, Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eight"

Re:Math is HARD

[theeddie55]

It doesn't matter, most textmessages are not 160 characters anyway.
mine are... I like to get my moneys worth.

Re:Double dipping

[Thaelon]

And don't forget that both the sender *and* the recipient pay for a text message for every one sent.

Only in the US. In the UK (and the rest of Europe, AFAIK) the telcos don't charge you for receiving texts--and even the idea of them doing so is considered absurd.

Oh, believe me, we in the US consider it absurd too. But when every carrier available to you does it, it doesn't bleedin' matter what we think, does it?

Re:Math is HARD

[phantomfive]

Where'd these guys come from, the Verizon School of Mathematics If it were the Verizon school of mathematics, they would charge you for the whole 8 bits (even if it's just seven per character), plus the overhead, plus extra for the line noise.

Re:Math is HARD

[praxis]

"mine are... I like to get my moneys worth" (sic on the moneys) is not 160 characters!

Re:Math is HARD

[gid]

yeah, but it's easy to compress "hahahahahahahhahahahaha"

Re:Interesting way to look at it

[magarity]

What they still haven't revealed is how they got the Hubble to SMS them to be able to compare to the phone to phone SMS cost.

Re:Math is HARD

[__aaxwdb6741]

You, sir, must have a degree in advanced compression algorithms.

Re:and the infrastructure cost doesn't matter?

[maxume]

7 people with legitimate uses and 200,000 spazzes does not "we" make.

Re:Math is HARD

[theeddie55]

True, and if I were posting on slashdot via sms I'd have waited until I had more to say. And to correct my typo, I like to get my money's worth. That's 160 char

Re:Math is HARD

[theeddie55]

acters.

Re:Math is HARD

[Thundersnatch]

On this most glorious Twelfth Day of May, Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eight

I went to a Catholic University, you insensitive clod!

Re:Math is HARD

[maxwell demon]

On this most glorious Twelfth Day of May, Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eight

I went to a Catholic University, you insensitive clod!

Ok: Ad diem gloriosum duodecimus Martii, anno domini duo mille et octem

(I hope my latin isn't too wrong ...)

Re:Math is HARD

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

acters. That'll be 20 cents please. We appreciate your business!

Re:Math is HARD

[Thundersnatch]

I was an engineer. What is this "latin" of which you speak?