Verizon To Charge Content Providers $.03 Per SMS

An anonymous reader writes "It appears that Verizon is going to start double-dipping by charging both consumers AND content providers for SMS text messages. Verizon has informed content partners that it will levy a $.03 charge for messages sent to customers, effective November 1. From RCRWireless: 'Countless companies could be affected by the new fee, from players in the booming SMS-search space (4INFO, Google Inc. and ChaCha) to media companies (CNN, ESPN and local outlets) to mobile-couponing startups (Cellfire) to banks and other institutions that use mobile as an extension of customer services.'"

Comments

They have it all wrong

[Bryansix]

ONLY the sender should be charged for SMS. You can't choose which ones you receive so why should you pay for them?

Re:They have it all wrong

[spazdor]

You seem to be under the misapprehension that Verizon has some sort of policy regarding "fairness".

They also charge you for incoming calls. Even if they're wrong numbers.

Also I hear that 0.02 = 0.0002.

Re:Email to Text?

[COMON$]

Ya but dont forget that that e-mail to txt is MORE expensive as you need a data plan. oh and data plans for alltel went up to about $44 a month to match their competitors. Either way the cell companies are gouging us on a service that we already pay for. Check it out:

You pay a service contract fee for a data line.

You pay an extra fee for using that data line to send SMS messages

You pay and extra fee to use that data line to send http, pop, smtp, https traffic

You pay an extra fee on top of that if you want to use that data line to connect a computer

All at fees that are going up exponentially while cost per bit goes down for the company, I would love to see those margins. This is what is going to happen to your internet service soon people.

Re:Timing is suspect

[xant]

I think it's safe to say that Verizon and its little friends are big fans of the current surveillance-friendly administration, seeing as how the W administration just gave the telcos the world's largest "Get Out Of Jail Free" card with their little "retroactive immunity" bill.

*sigh* Obama voted for it. (I'm voting for him anyway.)

Of course, I'm suspicious of the way gas prices suddenly drop in October of years divisible by 4, too. :)

They drop every October. Every September, too. People drive more in the summer.