20 Years of GSM and SMS

Posted by timothy on Tuesday May 8, 2012 @12:46AM from the grudgingly-admit-sms-is-useful dept.

udas writes "Two thirds of the world's population, 4 billion people, use cell phones today, and all of them have access to SMS. Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM), set up in 1982, created the GSM standard, leading to a unified, open, standard-based mobile network. SMS, up to 160 7-bit character messages sent over control channels (when they aren't busy), was part of the original GSM specification itself. The first GSM handsts were approved for sale in May 1992. But it was not until 1996, when pay-as-you-go SIM cards showed up, and the kids got their hands on it, that SMS gained popularity."

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20 years later... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-08 00:50 · Score: 5, Interesting

And they still charge over $1000/MB for SMS.
1. Re:20 years later... by lobiusmoop · 2012-05-08 01:28 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  "'SMS is the closest thing to pure profit ever invented" - Sir Chris Gent, founder of Vodafone.
  (from here)
  
  --
  "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
2. Re:20 years later... by kbielefe · 2012-05-08 02:18 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Repeat after me: prices are set by supply and demand, not by cost.
  The minimum costs of providing labor are extremely low, yet workers keep insisting on making a profit instead of working at indentured servitude rates.
  
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  This space intentionally left blank.