this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
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No Stupid Questions

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Is there any reason, beyond corporate greed, for SMS messages to cost so much?

If I get it right, an SMS message is just a short string of data, no different from a message we send in a messenger. If so, then what makes them so expensive? If we'd take Internet plans and consider how much data an SMS takes, we should pay tiny fraction of a cent for each message; why doesn't that happen?

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[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 172 points 7 months ago (19 children)

its crazier than you think... the original sms messaging was sent over an already existent, in process data path.. they didnt really have to add much to the system to accommodate it, yet charged an obscene amount per message

the answer is simple; because they can

[–] AlternatePersonMan@lemmy.world 73 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (17 children)

Messages went from $.05, to $.10, to $.20 to send and receive. That was in the span of three years. All of the companies said it wasn't collision. They just happened to arrive upon massive increases separately.

If I recall, one of the CEOs said "We're raising the prices to save customers money. This way they'll be an unlimited plan"

The telcos should have been broken up then. Instead we've seen even more mergers.

  • Edit: forgot to include the years. This was in the U.S. circa 2005-2008. Telcos have moved onto other sleezy practices now.*
[–] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 months ago (3 children)

You had to pay to receive? wtf.gif

So some rando could ruin you by sending a bazillion SMS messages?

[–] skulblaka@startrek.website 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You could ignore them and not recieve. But then you've got a billion pending messages that you don't know the content of.

[–] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The messages weren't pushed to you? You got a notification and then had to request the actual message? That would be even more stupid, as it's using twice the bandwidth.

[–] skulblaka@startrek.website 1 points 7 months ago

That's how it worked on my old phone, you got a message notification but it cost you to actually read it. No clue if they sent the message content before the paywall or if it pulled it down afterward.

But it also meant you could use your phone basically as a beeper without paying for texts. Just see who sent you a message, ignore the actual message and call them.

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