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AT&T’s Text Messages Cost $1,310 per Megabyte

techcrunch.com — Today is basic math day at CrunchGear where we discovered that if 160 bytes of SMS data costs twenty cents then 1MB (1,048,576 bytes) of data would cost 131,072 cents, or $1,310.72.

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  • RedCt, on 07/02/2008, -1/+249Now that's what I call a rip-off.
    • mywhitenoise, on 07/02/2008, -0/+107Phone service in general is a rip-off.
      • TheFunnyDigger, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1Yeah, we should all buy the plan, huh.
        The plan is, "We'll ***** you over till you give us a little free will."
        ***** bags! I can't wait till the 3G though. Wow plastic back, for US! You and me, that's awesome. thanks AT&T
    • kodek, on 07/02/2008, -19/+14Everyone's bitching about how it's a rip-off, but no one mentioned the real reason why they cost so much. Text messages do not go through data channels. They use air time and hog up cell towers. That's why it's so hard to send text messages during new year's eve, etc.

      For text messages to go down in price, they'd first have to make text messages use data channels, and this would require a huge change in the network's structure.
      • KMartSheriff, on 07/02/2008, -5/+44Yes, the huge ungodly large text messages. 160 bytes, my God, how do the phone companies manage to stay in business! I'm so glad you enlightened me. Now I'll happily pay $20 a month for....I'm sorry, I can't keep this ***** up anymore.
      • StephenCIreland, on 07/02/2008, -1/+17not really, the MMS protocol supports 1000 character text messages and works ove rthe data channels. in Ireland these cost 5 cent. the price only goes up when you add pictures, i often find it an easy way to get messages through on newyears etc..
      • noahhoward, on 07/03/2008, -28/+3KMartSheriff, I hope one day you realise just how stupid that really was. The five or more of you that dugg his ignorant comment up turn in your Digg accounts an unplug your internet.

        http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/ ...

        2.3 trillion messages world-wide per year
        1.9 billion per month
        63.3 million messages per day

        Those puny 160Kb messages add up to 10.13Tb of data every single day.
      • helfire, on 07/03/2008, -0/+48noahhoward, I hope one day you realize just how stupid that really was.

        160 BYTES max per txt

        160*63,300,000 = 10,128,000,000 bytes = 9.43243504 gigabytes

        If a world wide network cant handle that puny amount of data per day we have bigger problems.
      • masamunecyrus, on 07/03/2008, -0/+17You didn't mention how much bandwidth PHONE CALLS take up. Here in Japan, text messages are cheap or free, and it's phone calls that cost money.

        I might add that there's two types of text-messages, as well: C-Mail and E-Mail. C-Mail (call mail?) goes through like a standard phone, so if the recipient is busy on their phone, it will fail to send. E-Mail is just like the internet, and I can send messages to anyone I want with an e-mail address, and anyone can send my phone messages.
      • lalalalamppost, on 07/03/2008, -0/+13I think the real interesting question here is whether there is price fixing going on, if the prices are floating artificially above a truly competitive level.

        OH IT WILL BE NICE TO HAVE A REAL DOJ AND FTC SOON!
      • elnerdo, on 07/03/2008, -1/+11Kodek, no. The real reason it costs so much is NOT because of any technical limitations. It costs so much because people still pay for it. Why would they lower their price if people will continue to pay for it to be inflated?
      • magusat999, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5elnerdo hit it on the head - not only is that valid for this case, but it has been a trend in all markets since the 1990s. We are being charged, not according to fair markup of realistic costs of service / manufacture, but rather according to popularity of the product and the idiot consumer's willingness to pay. As consumers, we have to stop accepting and defending lies and ***** excuses these companies are vomiting all over us, and get over the notion that paying through the nose means a better product. helfire's mathmatics prove how illegitamate ATT's claim is that these messages are "clogging the network". It's just another excuse to charge us extravagant prices - which are too high in the first place.

        I actually don't believe companies like ATT want these kinds of services to flourish. They were against it when it started - they might be working to bring the house down, all the while trying to look like they want to be some sort of "provider". ATT sucked as a landline phone company, and now they want to bring their suckiness into the wireless / internet world - are we going to accept them with open arms?
      • Snuxoll, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Text messages do not use airtime, they use up excess bandwitdh in both the GSM and CDMA protocols. Thats why you can send them while during a call even without a 3G connection.
      • lengau, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Snuxoll is correct. In addition, a cell phone with a data connection (even if you don't have a data plan) can send the messages through the data side.
    • sdrawkcaB, on 07/02/2008, -0/+35You know it's a ripoff if Canada has better txt rates. Having to pay to receive text msgs is even more insane.
      • StephenCIreland, on 07/02/2008, -1/+22DUDE WHAT !!!!, you have to pay to receive messages where ?????? even if i roam to the othe rside of the world its still free to receive,
      • jamminman, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6America.
    • lepton, on 07/02/2008, -0/+39People don't seem to fully understand they charge you $0.20 to send a text message, and the other guy $0.20 to receive it! And yes, many people are on the pay-per-text rate. It's a huge money maker.
      • kinggimped, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8They do that in America. Everywhere else, the sender pays, unless it's an international message - and even then it's rare that the receiver will have to pay to get your text.

        I get 500 free texts a month with my contract and very rarely step over that.

        If you're paying per text, you probably don't use them often enough for them to be cost-effective. They haven't really taken off in America like they have in the rest of the world. Over here in the UK they're so embedded in popular culture that we take them for granted. You get hundreds of free texts even on pay-as-you-go tariffs, so long as you top up your phone once a month or so.

        America's cellular market in general is quite a way behind most of the rest of the world (Europe, Middle East, even Central America are ahead). That's why any red-blooded American gets a raging hard-on for the iPhone, which most of us consider to be pretty, but overpriced and under-specced crap compared with the alternatives.
    • xtraa, on 07/02/2008, -0/+12We pay the exact same price - in Euro. That makes a totally rip-off...

      $ 2079 WTF

      Ritschinnngg.
    • EarlOfLade, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4Yes and is why I did a quick calculation in my head when I was looking for a new cell and provider and figured out the outrageous costs and decided texting is something I don't need nor want to pay and arm and a leg and my firstborn for.

      Are you people telling me that this is news to you and you are using text messages? Holy *****!
    • masamunecyrus, on 07/03/2008, -0/+27It costs more than sending data to and from Hubble.
      http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/12/sms-data-rate ...
    • m0n0kr0m3, on 07/03/2008, -5/+2AT&T has long been the king of rip offs. I think it's time for the feds to step in once again to break up their monopoly on the cell market.
      • youareretarded, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8That's funny because every major carrier now charges the same price for text messages. The higher prices started with sprint, then verizon, at&t, and finally t-mobile.

        But yeah lets blame big bad at&t.
      • badtzmartin, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3And exactly how is FOUR different carriers in most cities an AT&T monopoly?
      • m0n0kr0m3, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1AT&T sets the standard by being in all the cities dummies!
    • wrzhydr, on 07/03/2008, -7/+2This is the beauty of an open market. No one is forcing a gun to your head saying "YOU MUST TEXT OR BE KILLED!". If you think its a rip-off, don't freaking text and have all incoming texts blocked. If you want to text, pony the ***** up and get the damn plan.
      • jamminman, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3You missed the point of an open market. If you want to text you are forced to pay ridiculous amounts because every carrier matches price to ensure that they all make insane profits. Open? Hah.
      • wrzhydr, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1yes because as we all know, $5 for texting is insane! but still, that's how a business makes money. if people stopped paying that price, then the prices would drop. And like I said before, if you don't like the prices, don't text. Opportunity costs and such. IF you would rather have a ham sandwich 2x a week instead of once, don't text.
    • elnerdo, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6It's worse than you think, actually. It doesn't just cost 20 cents to send a message. It ALSO costs 20 cents for somebody to receive a message. Really, it's $2620 per megabyte.
    • rz8472, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3The extra cost goes into vetting each text message and informing the NSA in case there is anyone - to use a Chinese term - "disturbing public harmony".
    • crampy20, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Huh? Do you realize how cheap some phones are, you even get some for free! Where the hell else do you expect a phone company to make its money especially as they give unlimited data? Plus, who sends 65,538 text messages, even if they do - surely they would choose the unlimited plan which is a far more reasonable 20$ a month? This guy is an idiot.

      (I posted this in the original digg - it is ridiculous that some guy who has been on digg longer, comes along and posts it an it is that that gets to the front page)

    • nonsequitor, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Or you could get the low end Media Plan which gives you 10 MB of data for $10, including text. I have AT&T, why all the hating?

      No iPhone yet, so no need for unlimited data.
  • StingingNettle, on 07/02/2008, -3/+311Stp txting me! U jst $ me .20.
  • TheVigilante, on 07/02/2008, -1/+49Yeah I had to subscribe to their stupid 5 dollar plan so I could get 200 text messages. It's cheaper than paying for the texts out of pocket but I remember back when texts were 10 cents to send only. Those were the days...
    • moo113, on 07/02/2008, -0/+26I remember when $5 got you unlimited texts, now those were the days. Now I pay $15 for 2500.
      • KaiSe7eN, on 07/02/2008, -0/+12T-Mobile....$5 Unlimited Text....And I love every bit of it.
      • NeelxSarkar, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4What T-Mobile are you using? I pay $15 for unlimited at T-Mobile.
    • devin_mm, on 07/02/2008, -3/+18Ummm.... if text messages were 10c a peice your 200 messages would still cost you $20. So from what I understand from your post you pine for the days when texts were 10c a peice rather than 200 for $5 that is some ***** up math.
      • Asheis, on 07/02/2008, -7/+2wow... you only use 200? I don't even use my texts all that much and I have the 1000 (and many months I go over)...
      • PCGCentipede, on 07/02/2008, -0/+10It was 10¢ to send, free to receive.
      • feliks2, on 07/02/2008, -4/+10wtf do you do with all those texts? why dont you just call people
      • KMartSheriff, on 07/02/2008, -1/+4PCGCentipede is right, it was 10 cents to send and receiving texts was free. Don't know why he's getting dugg down.
      • MScrip, on 07/02/2008, -1/+8> "wtf do you do with all those texts? why dont you just call people"

        Hell... why call? Just talk face to face!

        It's just a different way to communicate. I text people all the time. I also call people too. Or send messages on Facebook, or e-mail. Oh, and IM.

        I just sent and received 6 texts while I'm typing this. It's just what we do. I didn't have 5 minutes worth of dialog to say to my friend... but I got the message across to her with 3 text messages.
      • tribble222, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6@Asheis
        1000 texts a month is 33 texts a day. Assuming you sleep 8 hours a night, you're sending or receiving a text message every 30 minutes. I don't think that qualifies as "I don't even use my texts all that much".
    • ertz, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8It's still expensive, i pay like .025 per message (not in the US, of course)... oh and I recieve them for free
    • tonyscha, on 07/03/2008, -2/+2I remembered when email was free... oh wait it is.. maybe you should use email instead of text messages!!!
      • lengau, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2That would be nice, and I use E-mail (and Jabber) often, but some people *only* want you to send them text messages. And also, if I'm on the road with only my cell phone and no data plan, I can't send e-mail anyway.
    • cawfee, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Back when rubber boots were made of wood!
    • kickelephant, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1This is why my friends and I still use smoke signals.
  • phore, on 07/02/2008, -0/+209The thing I don't understand is if you pay for unlimited data, why do they still charge you so much for text messages? Its just an excuse to inflate customer's phone bills. Texts take up a lot less data than even a 20 second phone call or a single e-mail.
    • rpi22, on 07/02/2008, -0/+73text messages are less demanding on their network. Think about it, packet switching only uses a microscopic amount of network resources compared to the network switching required to maintain a continuous circuit to for a live conversation.

      text messaging should be WAAAAY cheaper than live converations.
      • akula89, on 07/03/2008, -0/+11indeed texting should be free with a voice plan truth be told
      • elnerdo, on 07/03/2008, -0/+11But people like you continue to pay for it to be expensive. Why would they ever make it free?
    • funkyloki, on 07/02/2008, -11/+4They will say they do it because each data feature is a different "network". Let me explain. We will take Verizon for example, but they are all like this. Verizon uses CDMA for their voice, EVDO rev A for broadband internet and transfers, SMS for text messages, MMS for picture and video messages, and 1x for dialup transfers. You pay for uses for each network. that is why they have a voice plan, a broadband plan, and a messaging plan and why they are usually covered by different fees.
      Of course, this is just guesswork. I have no real idea about why they do it, but I sold cell phones (not that that is much of a qualifier) and after three years it is the only logical explanation i could come up with, other than "they are just ripping us off".
      • hexydes, on 07/03/2008, -1/+12Should have just gone with your gut on that one (ripping us off).
    • Falldog, on 07/02/2008, -0/+26"The thing I don't understand is if you pay for unlimited data, why do they still charge you so much for text messages?" "Its just an excuse to inflate customer's phone bills."

      Ya sorta answered yourself there.
    • kuwan, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4Those of us with unlimited data should start a movement demanding unlimited texting be included with our unlimited data plans. To pressure the phone companies we should all download as much data as we can every day. Then ask them - what do you want on your networks 1) Multi-GB downloads per day, every day from all of us or 2) Free unlimited texting with our data plans? I think they'll go for #2 fairly quickly if we can get enough people to follow through.
      • hexydes, on 07/03/2008, -0/+11No, they'll just add an asterisk.

        Unlimited* data.
    • str1fe, on 07/03/2008, -0/+16They charge that much because they know people are willing to pay it and know they can get away with it.
    • jameslhwalker, on 07/03/2008, -8/+3they're a business, they make money, there not a ***** charity you *****. Of course they are trying to make money off you, dumb piece of *****
    • onelikeseabass, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1They want you to use up your voice minutes for communication. If you don't have to pay for texts, and voice calls run down your monthly allotment, why call anyone except when absolutely necessary? If text messaging was given away for free with a voice plan, I think you'd see voice usage drop substantially and a lot more texting going on.

  • menwuur, on 07/02/2008, -0/+482Text messages should be a free feature of phones. It's ridiculous paying for that *****.
    • alpharaptor, on 07/02/2008, -2/+57they won't do it because they hate their customers
    • Aero347, on 07/03/2008, -1/+32Why aren't the cell phone companies offering a lure of 'free unlimited texting with any phone plan'? Why isn't capitalism and a free market serving us the customers?

      I'll tell you why.
      Cell phone companies collaborate and think customers and Americans are R-R-R-RET-T-T-Tarded.
      • chrisaug18, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4And you know what they are right! Well at least about anyone whos not a digg user.
      • thatsmyaibo, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Sprint gives me free unlimited messaging with my plan. And data.
      • Elliuotatar, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5They don't collaborate. They just saw one getting away with charing for them, and the rest followed suit. As long as they're not losing customers because of it, why would they stop?

        People pay out the wazoo for ringtones too. I can put an SD card in my phone, with mp3's on it, and it can play them. I can also put midis on there and play those. But miraculously it won't let me select them as ringtones even though ringtones are really just midi files. No, for that I have to log onto their web service and buy ringtones from them for some crazy price like $1.99. And for that reason I'm stuck with the only ringtone the phone has which I can actually hear over the din of a bar.
    • bosox3125, on 07/03/2008, -1/+20sucky part is, they USED to be free!! circa 1998
    • thatsmyaibo, on 07/03/2008, -0/+9What pisses me off is that you have no control over who texts you...and it goes against your plan!
    • ToothyMcshark, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2I'm still waiting for a Google phone.
    • smedrick, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Yet people keep paying for them. There's a whole generation of bbf Jills out there that will make mommy and daddy pay anything for text messages. Why would the phone companies give it away for free?
    • bone625, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Yeah, they should be.

      I text a LOT, and I'm not usually too much of a cheap bastard, but one of the only things holding me back from absolutely getting an iPhone is having to pay ***** 20 DOLLARS A MONTH, ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE, just for some extra texts. 240 bucks a year for texts? I dunno about that. I hope they unlock it fast.

      (Have Sprint BTW. Good prices, but coverage blows around my area.)
  • iambagels, on 07/02/2008, -5/+13I'd imagine it's a little more than 160 bytes after you add in other information like who it's going to, who it came from, the timestamp and things like that. Not to mention a text with a photo costs the same as one that's plain text but it's a larger packet size. It's still going to add up to be a rip-off though.
    • zzz@tkz, on 07/02/2008, -1/+28A text with a photo isn't a SMS. It's a MMS.

      Regardless, they're all the same: emails. Literately speaking.

      I have an unlimited data plan, I should be able to send unlimited data regardless of how it looks externally.
    • davidrools, on 07/02/2008, -1/+10or it's a lot less (and more expensive per MB) when you text less than 160 characters...

      >R U here yet?
      >Yep
      >k

      $0.60 for the phone company
      • patm1987, on 07/02/2008, -1/+9well, there's a good chance that the texting logic is like this:

        unsigned char * text = malloc(160);
        scanf("%160s",text);
        send(phone, text, 160); // send to phone phone, message text, length 160
        // free(text);
        // I commented out free since it causes some of my other code to crash, the phone seems to run perfectly well if I remove all free
        // -- signed new programmer who just graduated

        which, in the end, would use all 160 bytes, even if you typed "k"

        note that I have seen similar situations to the above happen, and that phones are more likely to have a working C compiler than a C++ one (for anyone wondering why I didn't use new and delete). Also, I guess the max length would be 159 if they wanted a null char...
    • sportz103, on 07/02/2008, -2/+7I would imagine that most don't send a timestamp either. If you have no service and someone texts you, when you later get that message it usually has the current time
    • efitz11, on 07/02/2008, -0/+6when i have no service and then walk into a service area and recieve my message, my verizon phone says when the text was sent as well as when it was stored on my phone
  • Helicobacter, on 07/02/2008, -3/+29Is the SMS feature mandatory in the new AT&T iPhone plan? I mean you could always access the Internet and use one of those free services...
    • Yarnage, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1That's not a real solution. How do you send a message to your friends especially if they don't have a PDA like phone?
  • Shigglyboo, on 07/02/2008, -3/+126what's F'd up is people without text plans still have to pay for incoming texts, and they cannot block them.
    This is why these types of companies are so rich. They find ways to make dollars out of pennies without actually providing a service. It's like how you pay $40 for 600 minutes, but if you go over by 100 minutes they want $50. that markup is insane. I actually won a BBB dispute against T-mobile with that logic. They could not justify the price per minute. My bill was wiped clean, they offered me a new phone and I went from 600 to 1000 minutes for the same price.
    • sockpuppets, on 07/02/2008, -1/+25I'm surprised the BBB actually did anything for you. Everyone I've spoken to say they're fairly worthless.
      • sstidman, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5I tried using the Better Business Bureau to settle a dispute two years ago. That's when I learned that the BBB is a private organization funded entirely by businesses. So guess whose side they usually take in disputes? They have to take the consumers side sometimes in order to appear unbiased, but if they took the consumers side most of the time then businesses would simply close them down.
      • Yarnage, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1I've used the BBB to settle several disputes and they've been very helpful each time. I've never heard of people going through the BBB and not getting help.
    • zeptobyte, on 07/02/2008, -0/+10My carrier has unlimited free incoming texts. o_O
    • BRODEL, on 07/02/2008, -0/+3I have been trying to find a decent source that says you have to pay for incoming texts. I was planning to use e-mail or a website to send SMS, but if I am charged for incoming then I guess they can't reply to me without me being charged.
    • milkmage, on 07/02/2008, -0/+8you can kind of block some of them

      from David Pogue:

      http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/how-to-b ...

      * AT&T: Log in at mymessages.wireless.att.com. Under Preferences, you’ll see the text-blocking and alias options. Here’s also where you can block messages from specific e-mail addresses or Web sites.

      * Verizon Wireless: Log in at vtext.com. Under Text Messaging, click Preferences. Click Text Blocking. You’re offered choices to block text messages from e-mail or from the Web. Here again, you can block specific addresses or Web sites. (Here’s where you set up your aliases, too.)

      * Sprint: No auto-blocking is available at all, but you can block specific phone numbers and addresses. To get started, log in at www.sprint.com. On the top navigation bar, click My Online Tools. Under Communication Tools, click Text Messaging. On the Compose a Text Message page, under Text Messaging Options, click Settings & Preferences. In the text box, you can enter a phone number, email address or domain (such as Comcast.net) that you want to block.

      * T-Mobile: T-Mobile doesn’t yet offer a “block text messages from the Internet” option. You can block all messages sent by e-mail, though, or permit only messages sent to your phone’s e-mail address or alias, or create filters that block text messages containing certain phrases. It’s all waiting when you log into www.t-mobile.com and click Communication Tools.
      • meragrin, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3If you talk to the right person at Verizon Wireless, they will block ALL text messages. My mother managed to do this.
    • QuimbyDogg, on 07/03/2008, -5/+0I know as far as verizon goes you are only charged if you open the text to get the full message. I use to leave a lot of short messages (lol, ok, yeah) "unread." You can always read the first 2 or 3 words without opening it so the short messages are free in a sense....

      Of course now texts are such a major part of my social life that I have an unlimited plan so it no longer matters. I think this is the way that most people are going.... Yeah its nuts it costs that much to send a meg but you are doing it without the plan so it makes sense.

      It is exactly like how they can charge an arm and a leg if you go over your minutes.... Nothing new here. Cell companies trying to charge you the most they can while still having people comply.
    • Niz1, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8wait what? you pay for incoming text messages? do you have to pay for incoming calls as well? I guess because the USA is so big they have to make these charges? In the UK you could essentially have a phone with no credit and still use it, just get people to call you, and you can still receive texts all which i thought goes without saying FREE. Of course you probably will be adding credit but your not totally useless when you have no credit.
      • lupuz2k, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1same in germany. the first time actually that I heard of something like this :)

        Also funny, that nearly every internet-sms-send page offers sms to mobile phones in the US free of charge. 1st.: I now understand, how this is possible (if the recipient pays for it ^^) and 2nd.: if I would spam someone from this pages, it's not only annoying, but costs their money :)
      • Yarnage, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Yes, in the USA our minutes count against incoming and outgoing calls. It blows.
  • Yankees368, on 07/02/2008, -15/+11God Bless America
    • ggofthejungle, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6I don't understand why you're being dugg down. In other countries it's way cheaper. Example, Romania. They probably didn't understand your sarcasm
    • dunmasterkane, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3He's dugg down because on digg, there is no God.
  • grey580, on 07/02/2008, -12/+62i smell class action
    • jason0802, on 07/02/2008, -2/+31why would there be a class action? they offer a paid service that you voluntarily choose to accept

      as long as people continue to pay - then nothing will change

      just simple market forces at work
      • lalalalamppost, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4If I were an attorney, I'd be looking for signs of something more than conscious parallelism in the pricing of text messages between competitors, with the goal of suing for horizontal price fixing (per se illegal) under section 1 of the Sherman Act, (with standing for a private suit provided by section 4 of the Clayton Act.) Treble damages, attorney's fees, and such.

        But I'm not an attorney, so ... I look to members of the Plaintiff's Bar to kick some arse.
      • mphree, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3I would think class action for those of us that pay for unlimited data and are still charged for texting.... which is simple data anyway, just as an email.
      • bxblox, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3You don't choose to accept text messages. You just get them and are charged whether you want to accept them or not.
      • pagno, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2What choice do they, we have? Pay their ransom, or go without a phone? And all the companies are the same, moreorless. Point here, you are charged for text messages you did not ask for, and there is nothing you can do to stop it, except cancel your contract, which will cost you even more. Its all *****.
    • peestandingup, on 07/03/2008, -1/+10I smell *****...wait, thats me. Time for a shower.
    • phike, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1grey580, you obviously aren't a lawyer.
  • aserer511, on 07/02/2008, -15/+1...ok? That's fair when you consider that 1300 bucks is enough to text a small novel
    • parallax7d, on 07/02/2008, -0/+11it's not fair when you think that a typical email can be several MB large. Ever pay $1000 to send an email?
      • UTPinky, on 07/02/2008, -1/+6Of plain text? Really?! I feel sorry for whoever you send your emails to.
    • EtherGnat, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Actually I just e-mailed myself a full length book (~600k) to my smartphone a couple days ago. With my unlimited data it was completely free. Texting just the title of the book to my phone would have cost me $0.20 though.
  • orlyfactor, on 07/02/2008, -3/+61Soon I will have no bff's :(
  • DropTheOxygen, on 07/02/2008, -16/+3This is extremely misleading, see the use of 'if'.
    "In other words, if AT&T charged data downloads at the rate they charge text messages downloading 1MB of data would cost you $1,310.72."

    The rate is per-message, not by the bytes.
    • BRODEL, on 07/02/2008, -1/+11You're missing the point... It's still data, they're just charging you a LOT more for it.
    • Animal, on 07/02/2008, -1/+6That's the whole point. Charging by the message is the huge rip off since the actual bytes sent are so tiny in comparison.
    • UTPinky, on 07/02/2008, -1/+7Right, and a message can be up to 160 bytes. It's not at all misleading... Learn to read.
  • rancemo, on 07/02/2008, -3/+19If texting were included, many people would drastically reduce their voice usage. AT&T is just trying to prevent lost revenue from voice usage reduction.
    • KMartSheriff, on 07/02/2008, -0/+8Yeah, ok, whatever. So make it $5 for unlimited texts. $20 is downright ***** (technically, so is $5).
  • tama00, on 07/02/2008, -13/+2They what is called MMS messages. You guys should use it if your sending data.
    • judicar, on 07/02/2008, -5/+16ENGLISH MOTHER *****, DO YOU SPEAK IT?
      • BRODEL, on 07/02/2008, -3/+4Samuel L Jackson FTW!
      • supermanly, on 07/02/2008, -2/+5Did you ever consider that English might not be tama00's first language?

        Secondly, if you speak English so well, you would be able to deduce that tama00 is essentially trying to say, "That's what MMS messages are. You guys should use it if you're sending data."

      • Gorgamel, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3The internet is serious business.
  • crapmatic, on 07/02/2008, -0/+10With prepaid tracfone that has double minutes you can effectively get 1600 messages for $38, or $152/megabyte. Who needs contracts?
  • am520dj, on 07/02/2008, -8/+1This is why I use email.
    http://www.livejournal.com/tools/textmessage.bml?m ...
  • FredFredrickson, on 07/02/2008, -0/+15Man, a little more than a dollar for every kb. Quite a deal!
  • DDMX, on 07/02/2008, -14/+17Contact AT&T customer support and tell them to include text messages in their unlimited data.

    1-800-331-0500
    • CLShortFuse, on 07/02/2008, -3/+29Working as a customer service rep is hard enough without having an annoying bastard on the line demanding them constantly to add something to their account for free. If you want pricing infrastructure change, don't call CSR.
    • UTPinky, on 07/02/2008, -5/+4Yeah... cause that will work...
    • IAmCuteKitty, on 07/02/2008, -1/+11You first.
    • Jpardue, on 07/03/2008, -4/+4Or just call them and tell them that they are a monopoly and they ***** suck... Which ever one works for you!
    • PacketScan, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Call the CSR's and waste their time. Time is money.

      You want to rape me.. I'll return the favor.
  • sockpuppets, on 07/02/2008, -1/+10Sprint Sero, unlimited text messages. No added charges.
    • jobobshishkabob, on 07/02/2008, -0/+4The Sero $30 plan is ending soon, so get it while it lasts.
      • basevillin, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2It's been "ending soon" for a while.
      • jobobshishkabob, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I've heard July 10, which is odd because I would think that they would want at least *some* competition with AT&T the next day.
  • pathouston22, on 07/02/2008, -16/+11If you want to talk to me, call me.
    If you want to send me text, e-mail me.
    If I want to visit a website, I'll use a computer.

    My phone is for phone calls. I'm not typing out a sentance on 9 keys or visiting the web on a 2.5" screen. I have better things to do with my time.
    • dttn, on 07/02/2008, -5/+10But that's just you.
    • LuckyKarma, on 07/02/2008, -6/+11You're boring.
      • pathouston22, on 07/02/2008, -5/+1I just like to do things the easier way.
      • LuckyKarma, on 07/02/2008, -1/+4Why should I take the time to boot up my computer and type out a message when I could just call or fax?

        Why should I buy a TV? I can find out what's going on in the newspaper and be entertained by the radio.

        These are exciting times. Try to keep up =)
    • chump, on 07/02/2008, -3/+4sentance?
    • koft, on 07/02/2008, -4/+4amen brother.
    • CLShortFuse, on 07/02/2008, -1/+7Like take the time to find actually computer to email somebody or visit a website. Yeah, that's a great use of time rather than pulling out your phone and doing it from where you're standing.
    • lengau, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1That's great, except that everyone in my area thinks that since I have a cell phone, I must have an unlimited texting plan, so they send me messages every 5 minutes...
  • slayernine, on 07/02/2008, -11/+3Where the hell is Google and their free phone?
  • mongrel, on 07/02/2008, -11/+11Shouldn't even be legal, it's price fixing to the most abusive extent.
    • mooseontheloose, on 07/02/2008, -3/+7I'd bet anything I own you don't even know what price fixing is (except for a general catch-all of what companies do when you don't agree with their pricing) if I didn't know you wouldn't just cheat and google it.
    • Mothrog, on 07/03/2008, -2/+8Companies shouldn't be able to set the prices you willingly accept? You're an idiot.
    • mongrel, on 07/03/2008, -2/+6Mooseknuckles - from Dictionary.com: the establishing of prices at a determined level, either by a government or by mutual consent among producers or sellers of a commodity.

      AT&T aren't the only one with this jacked up pricing, I'm referring to ALL modern phone carriers keeping text rates this high for the purpose of ass-raping primarily parents of teenagers. A text doesn't cost the companies ***** outside a p.o.s. Tandy computer to route them appropriately. At their best, text rates are a tool to promote unlimited plans through "progressive" carriers who are just as evil. One company couldn't do it if they ALL didn't do it, eg. MUTUAL CONSENT.

      What the world needs is a Google-run phone company to make texts free like they did for storage, and everyone else will fall in line.

      Oh and also kiss my salty white ass.
  • ZeroFeetAbove, on 07/02/2008, -1/+21I live in Canada, land of ***** cell service, and I get unlimited texts, voicemail and call display for 10$/month. This is a horrible for you guys in the states.
    • mooseontheloose, on 07/02/2008, -2/+5Uh, OK? T-Mobile offers the same thing. And I've never heard of anyone paying for voicemail or call display.
      • arcooke, on 07/02/2008, -0/+8I'm not sure of all carriers, but I know voicemail and caller-id are paid add-ons for MetroPCS.. my friend has it.

        They advertise unlimited minutes, then ***** you in the ass with features.
      • jb0nd38372, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6"They advertise unlimited minutes, then ***** you in the ass with features."

        Transvestite hooker nympho?
    • someone173406, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1What kind of bizarro world provider is that? I wanna know.
  • TonyBLiar, on 07/02/2008, -0/+78The UK President of Vodafone is on record as saying that Text Messaging is "..the purest form of profit ever devised"
    • kuwan, on 07/03/2008, -0/+35It's basically printing money. According to the following Slashdot comment the actual cost to a cell carrier for SMS is 0:

      http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=433536& ...

      I know the true cost of SMS messages!

      I made a paper for the univeristy some years ago. The marginal cost of a SMS is 0.

      They do have a little cost/opportunity. As a matter of fact SMS messages are sent on the control channel. Initially SMS were implemented in the GSM standard as a control system, just like the ICMP protocol of the IP stack. Then NOKIA though to implement a actual instant message function using SMS. The Contol channel is the channel that your mobile listens to in order to receive calls. So for receiving a SMS a control signal is sent. Since bandwidht is somehow limited on these channels it could happen that in a situation of massive usage of texting the control channel gets saturated and normal voice protocol initiation is disrupted. To prevent this carriers nowadays apply a kind of QoS delaying SMSs until there is no risk of congestion. So we can state that the marginal cost is 0 and the cost/opportunity is also 0

      Another story is for the MMSs. Their cost/opportunity is even lower since they run almost enterely on GPRS thus using most bandwidht on normal data channels. Thus a MMS with pictures sounds and maybe video SHOULD cost less than a SMS.

      So you wonder, why do I pay so much for a SMS or a MMS or even a Call: after the debts for the initial hardware infrastructure have been paid by the carrier you are still paying because of market segmentation (You won't change the carrier on the fly) and a little monopoly (Almost impossible to start a new carrier from 0).
  • koft, on 07/02/2008, -18/+4Who the ***** sends text messages? I guess the same idiots that buy ringtones.
    • matt3454, on 07/02/2008, -2/+10Pretty much everyone with friends?
    • supermanred, on 07/02/2008, -1/+5Yeah. Everyone are idiots except you. You are so beyond the norm. :)
    • KMartSheriff, on 07/02/2008, -1/+9Go climb a wall of *****.
  • chump, on 07/02/2008, -1/+4sms was meant to be a free messaging system for sending credit card details, until they become popular, all mobile companies have been milking the text cow for many a year now.
  • alittleroy101, on 07/02/2008, -1/+5I pay $99 for unlimited data, voice, text, navigation, sprint tv and radio, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

    Of course, recently I have also been spending most of my time on Verizon's network, since Sprint sucks ass in Boston and the surrounding areas.
    • supermanred, on 07/02/2008, -3/+1I pay $24 for my weekend and weeknights package and use an iPhone with it.

      Using wifi, I get unlimited data, msn messenger, emails, web browsing, internet radio and pretty much anything else you can think of.

      Take that, alittleroy101!

      Oh, and did I mention it's an iPod too?

      Oh, and did I mention it travels in time?
      • alittleroy101, on 07/02/2008, -0/+295% of the time I am not in range of free and decent wifi. I also spend most of my minutes during the day, not the nights.

        I have a good mp3 player on my phone. I also have expandable memory, a removable battery, GPS, and 3G network coverage.

        I thought we were talking about phone plans though.

  • hollywoodphony, on 07/02/2008, -4/+8I was really excited for a new iPhone a month ago. Now that's fading as this starts to seem like one big screw job.
    • chump, on 07/02/2008, -2/+1does this have anything to do with an iphone?
      • hollywoodphony, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4No, you're right. In the way that gas prices have nothing to do with a car.
    • supermanred, on 07/02/2008, -0/+3one big screw job? Just use emails + wifi and its free. Has nothing to do with whatever phone you use. Cel companies will keep ripping people off until everyone has wifi on their phones and stops using sms.
  • theCreator79, on 07/02/2008, -2/+34Where's the FCC?? Oh, that's right, they are getting a cut of the $$$$!!!
  • guk6kk, on 07/02/2008, -2/+24I hope they introduce Skype app for the iPhone...free calls all day...
    • supermanred, on 07/02/2008, -0/+5Look into "Fring"... it's available and works with Skype. It will more than likely be one of the first free apps on the AppStore when it goes live.
    • adidos, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5I thought we were talking about text messaging, not calls...
  • supermanred, on 07/02/2008, -1/+11Just get a smart phone, use wifi and send full emails. A lot cheaper.
  • tibe, on 07/02/2008, -3/+3While I don't like what carriers do with their pricing of text messaging there are some costs that are being overlooked by the majority of the comments. When a carrier sends a text to another carrier there is a cost involved. There must be joins between the carriers which both must pay for. Internationally this can get quite complex. Here in New Zealand this cost is more clearly reflected where you can buy 2000 texts for $10NZ or half a cent each provided the messages do not pass between carriers ie. no extra cost. Messages to other carriers, in NZ there are 3, are more expensive as each must pay for the function, if at a highly exorbitant rate. Reflected to the customer as 20 cent NZ texts. Internationally texts are 30 cents NZ again reflecting the number of different parties that must handle that message. This is not the internet, there is no Google, services cost money, all of which is reflected by what the customer pays. It is not just data like the internet. It must pass on the inside of the carriers network to other carriers, this is where the extra cost is. I think the carriers could easily bring the cost down, but it is not in their interest to do so.
  • KittySpark1es, on 07/02/2008, -0/+117text messages are the monster cables of cellular communication
    • ryan899, on 07/02/2008, -0/+41I'd relate it more to printer ink at $8000 a gallon.
    • MScrip, on 07/02/2008, -0/+15I know ZERO people who use Monster cables. But EVERY one of my friends send text messages.
      • KittySpark1es, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8your rich grandmother uses monster cables.
    • tas08, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Good call.
  • DarkReign16, on 07/02/2008, -0/+8I was charged a huge ***** rate in Mexico, where I let my cousin's friend use my phone, as it was the only on that worked there. It ended up costing just short of a thousand dollars, 997 bucks. I paid it all, but damn...

    ***** outrageous....needless to say, I no longer use ATT.
    • dwninjungleland, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6They got what they wanted from you.
    • Aero347, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6Call CSR and just scream raaaappppe help! and when they ask who say AT&T!!! RAPING ME! SEND HELP!
    • CountBrass, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2You let a stranger, "a cousin's friend", use your mobile 'phone. He ran up a large bill which you paid and that's the Telco's fault?

      Your cousin and his friend must have been laughing their arses off at you.

      Rube.

  • Mahoney07, on 07/02/2008, -4/+4If texts cost so little like you all say then a company would just give free texts and then everyone would flock to them
    • diacronic, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4Now why would you turn down a way to make money ? Where the money comes in from text messages that cost them next to nothing or .0001$US each (not a real figure) and if they got rid of them they would lose how much money ?! Don't see that happening. When you have that much money all you can think about is more.
  • alen3K, on 07/02/2008, -1/+50LOL. I heard that in the US you get charged for getting SMS-es.
    • ziggotron, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7That's scamtastic!
    • Lith25, on 07/03/2008, -0/+10I learned that the hard way. Kept getting spammed by some chick and ended with a $50 bill and I only ever sent maybe 20 txt's
    • jmreid, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Ya, that's crazy. Like getting charged when someone long distance calls you.
  • CopaceticOpus, on 07/02/2008, -1/+10What ever happened to competition? The cell providers should be undercutting one another until the price of text messages falls towards the actual cost, which is close to zero. Somehow they seem to get around the laws of economics.

    The cost of cell phone plans should be dropping over time. Instead, the plans stay at the same high rate, while the companies keep thousands of unnecessary retail locations open and advertise more than any other industry. The plans offered by the different companies are priced almost identically. How did this happen? Isn't collusion illegal?
    • Aero347, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Well at least we know our politicians are serving the lobbyists in the cell phone industry well these days..
    • tehhowch, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3You FAIL at economics.
      Cell phone service is a natural monopoly. One company can provide the service more cheaply to the same user base than two. There is also a significant fixed cost to market entry due to infrastructure requirements. If you had taken Microeconomics, you'd remember this. Costs don't have to fall, because market entry is limited, and demand remains high. The long-run price here is the that which is profit-maximizing to the firm.
  • sirbeta, on 07/02/2008, -10/+2How often would you use 1 meg of text messages though? Honestly, ~20 cents seems to be pretty normal for non-plan text charges. T-Mobile is 15 cents to send and receive a message.

    I mean, I think they should be free, but I don't think AT&T has crossed any lines, since they're already pretty much crossed them costing anything at all for such a small service.
  • Jeffler, on 07/02/2008, -2/+4Guys stop complaining...if you don't have a data plan thats how much data actually costs in Canada.

    :cry:
    • ShellShock11, on 07/02/2008, -4/+6Except no one here cares about Canada.
  • Chaulis, on 07/02/2008, -1/+5This is also the same rate every other major carrier charges. 20c a message with out a plan.
    • ThaDRD, on 07/02/2008, -0/+2Or with a plan for each message over your plans included number of text messages.
  • KillerX, on 07/02/2008, -0/+7T-Mobile's SMS rates are also 20¢

    T-Mobile initiates per-message SMS rate hike
    http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/06/30/t-mobile ...
  • emt1451, on 07/02/2008, -0/+12Evil ***** bastards.
  • IG64, on 07/02/2008, -1/+4If my family got the "familytalk" plan, we'd be paying $30 a month to send text messages. We pay AT&T $30 a month for our DSL service. This means we get unlimited texting for the same price on our home computers... along with the entire internet.

    This glaring difference in pricing could be due to difficulties involved in sending information between mobile devices, or simply AT&T being a ripoff (or both). Either way, this is why we don't use a texting service.
    • Aero347, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Well 20 cents for 1 message up to 160 bytes in size compared to unlimited monthly usage up to speeds of 6MB. (Per second) for $30 flat rate.

      This is AT&T --> B===D And this is you. ( |*| )
  • guk6kk, on 07/02/2008, -0/+15They are all fixing prices (cartel) which technically is against anti-trust laws. But since they are too big, no body has got balls to break them...and we wonder why they spend so much money lobbying (bribing) every year...
  • dwninjungleland, on 07/03/2008, -1/+7At first I was skeptical at all the people lambasting ATT because they were the only provider and bitching about unlocking their phones.
    But now I see how easy it is for ATT to stick a huge corporate penis right up the ass of every consumer out there since they are the exclusive carrier for the iPhone.
    Isn't there someone/ some group that can do something about this?
    • CountBrass, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1"Won't somebody do SOMETHING! Why won't they think of the children?"

      If you don't like it be an adult and don't buy it.
  • ken830, on 07/03/2008, -0/+34The math is wrong... Standard SMS is 160 7-bit characters (160 7-bit characters, 140 8-bit characters, or 70 16-bit characters). That's 1,120 bits or 140 bytes.

    That's 0.142857143 cents per byte or $1,497.96571 per Megabyte.
  • Wang, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4Disgusting!
  • aenegeling, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Email it is then.
  • Ascendancy5, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7http://communication.howstuffworks.com/sms.htm
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