The last few months I've received my phone bill, all I've seen are HUGE numbers. It's getting kind of ridiculous. I first started with T-Mobile and thought 400 text messages a month would be ok. And for a long time it was. But since May of 2009 (RS pres. start time correlates with this) my messages have been increasing, to the point where every month, I get billed for all those text messages I'm going over. I've exceeded my monthly plan by 300 messages each month for the last 4 months. I thought, I'll just try to bring it down, but that hasn't worked. So, after being mad at myself and the phone company for the last 4 months, I'm looking into different providers and better deals than T-Mobile. But I was reading today and saw something that didn't help my mood towards cell phone companies, what do you think about this?
"Text messages are short, quick and cheap to transmit. So why are they adding so much to your wireless bill?
The messages are such a tiny piece of data that they cost carriers only about one-third of a cent to deliver, according to computer scientist Srinivasan Keshav, who testified before U.S. senators on the issue last summer.
But on a pay-per-text plan, the 160-character messages typically cost 20 cents outgoing and 10 cents incoming. That's a markup of as much as 6,500%. OMG!
"It's pretty much pure profit," Keshav says. "Carriers would argue they put that money toward investing in new technology."
Even if customers sign up for an unlimited texting plan for, say, $10 a month, carriers are still cashing in considering that their overhead is basically $0. That's a lot to pay for a few LOLs."
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com staff reporter
So, for all of those out there who hate looking at your phone bill because of this, don't be like me and just put up with it, make a change, I'm going to!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A pet peeve only I can control
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2 comments:
I read that article this morning too! Tyler and I already went to Sprint a month ago, asking to reduce our plan to just one phone. Instead they knocked $10 off our bill for 3 months, and when that's over, we're still reducing our plan or changing providers. I think I'm going to go over there and negotiate! I'll pay back to full price if they throw in unlimited texting, or we're switching :) I'll let you know how it goes.
I fought the battle for about 5 months with my kids and then switched to unlimited texting - amazing what we end up paying for and end up doing - just to keep up with convenience and lifestyle!
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