20 Cents per Text Message for Verizon

Do you subscribe to Verizon Wireless?

If you do or plan to subscribe to the most reliable wireless sevice provider in the US, then you should check out this bit of news. Perhaps their announcement will have implications on the charges of your current wireless plan.

Verizon Wireless will follow Sprint Nextel Corp.’s lead in bumping text messaging rates from 15 cents to 20 cents per message. Take a look at Verizon's legal notice that was released last year:

Notice of Text Messaging Increase, which only applies to customers without a Messaging Package.

If you are not currently subscribed to a Messaging Package, beginning March 1, 2007, the price for sending TXT Messages to the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico - as well as the price for receiving TXT Messages from anywhere - will increase from $0.10 to $0.15 per message. The price to send an International TXT Message will remain $0.25 per message. If you do subscribe to a Messaging Package, your package rates will stay the same. Please consult your Customer Agreement for information about rate changes.

Now the rate for text messages will be increased from 15 cents to 20 cents per message. This increase will affect postpaid and the cost for domestic text messages will be increased in March; messaging rates for prepaid users will remain unchanged at 2 cents to 10 cents per message, depending on the plan.

Verizon may be using the increase to increase the messaging bundles. They are currently offering 500 text and picture messages plus unlimited in-network messaging for $10 a month. Customers can also choose 5,000 messages plus unlimited in-network messaging for $20 a month. This seems like a reasonable ofer for me. If you send a lot of text messages maybe the bundles option will work for you.

Anyway, Verizon is not the only carrier to increase its charge for text messages. Sprint Nextel has increaser their casual text messaging rate by five cents , from 15 cents per message to 20 cents per message. Interestingly, just 10 months before this increase, Sprint increased its casual text messaging fee from 10 cents to 15 cents.

I expect the other carriers to follow the examples of these wireless companies. Then again, they might retain their old text charges to attract customers away from Sprint and Verizon. I guess we'll find out how they will respond in the upcoming months.