Comments on: R U Serious? Text Messaging Is More Expensive Than Downloading Data from Space. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/12/r-u-serious-text-messaging-is-more-expensive-than-downloading-data-from-space/ Quirky, funny, and surprising science news from the edge of the known universe. Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:58:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Tim http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/12/r-u-serious-text-messaging-is-more-expensive-than-downloading-data-from-space/#comment-7695 Tim Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:01:39 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/12/r-u-serious-text-messaging-is-more-expensive-than-downloading-data-from-space/#comment-7695 Texts over here cost as much as they do because of pure greed! When I signed up with Alltel in June 2006 it was 8 cents to send or receive a message, now it's 15 cents for the same thing. Texts over here cost as much as they do because of pure greed! When I signed up with Alltel in June 2006 it was 8 cents to send or receive a message, now it’s 15 cents for the same thing.

]]> By: Chad http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/12/r-u-serious-text-messaging-is-more-expensive-than-downloading-data-from-space/#comment-7019 Chad Tue, 13 May 2008 16:12:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/12/r-u-serious-text-messaging-is-more-expensive-than-downloading-data-from-space/#comment-7019 It has always been baffling to me why text messages are so expensive compared to voice in the US (and the UK, apparently). Clearly, a text message contains far less information than voice, as well as not needing to be the highest-priority bits on the network. Yet a text typically costs ten cents, while for most people most of the time, voice is free. This is the complete opposite of my experiences living in Japan, where text is virtually free (~1 cent, and probably covered by your plan, so the first zillion per month cost nothing), while voice is very expensive (20+ cents per minute at night, 30+ during the day). Guess what? Over there, people text all the time and only call when necessary. It definitely makes for more pleasant public places...and makes far more sense. Why US and UK phone companies charge such mystifying prices that defy any basis in the actual cost of the service is a bit beyond me. It has always been baffling to me why text messages are so expensive compared to voice in the US (and the UK, apparently). Clearly, a text message contains far less information than voice, as well as not needing to be the highest-priority bits on the network. Yet a text typically costs ten cents, while for most people most of the time, voice is free.

This is the complete opposite of my experiences living in Japan, where text is virtually free (~1 cent, and probably covered by your plan, so the first zillion per month cost nothing), while voice is very expensive (20+ cents per minute at night, 30+ during the day). Guess what? Over there, people text all the time and only call when necessary. It definitely makes for more pleasant public places…and makes far more sense. Why US and UK phone companies charge such mystifying prices that defy any basis in the actual cost of the service is a bit beyond me.

]]>