US Carrriers Increasing SMS Rates To Sell Packages

Over a year ago, there was a big hubbub as the major carriers here in the United States started raising the rates for pay-per-use SMS messages. For the longest time, it was $.10/message, incoming or outgoing. I think it was Sprint who first raised the rate to $.15, and then every other major carrier followed suit. Well, Sprint jumped up another nickel about three months ago, and now Verizon is following in stride, raising the pay-per-use SMS rate to $.20 each.

The rate increases are obviously designed to motivate consumers into subscribing to monthly messaging bundles. Verizon currently offers 500 text or picture messages for $10, with messages sent between Verizon customers unlimited. 500 messages, at the new pay-per-use rate, would cost $100. You think it’d be silly to NOT subscribe to even such a cheap plan.

It probably is, but is jacking up the price of the pay-per-use package really the smartest way to get people to sign up for MORE? It’s almost like a scare tactic, saying, “if you don’t sign up for a monthly package, you’re going to run up a huge bill.”

Is that really the message the carriers should be sending to consumers?