Verizon charging content pushers 3 cents per text message
By Will Park on Saturday, October 11th, 2008 at 6:50 PM PST In Announcements, Financial, Partnerships, Services, Verizon
Times are tough. With the global economy teetering on the brink of disaster, everyone is looking to pinch as many pennies as they can get their hands on. Major national wireless carriers are no exception.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, the No. 2 wireless carrier in the US, has announced that they will start charging content vendors a cool 3 cents for every MT (mobile terminated) message that gets pushed through Verizon’s network on its way to customers’ handsets. MT traffic usually includes text message responses to search queries, text alerts (news, sports, stocks, etc.), and interactive voting notifications. Starting November 1, Verizon will be banking 3 cents for every MT message sent to Verizon customers - the new fee will be charged in addition to the fees that MT vendors already pay. All MT vendors will be subject to the fee increase, with the exception of free-to-end-user campaigns (where the sender assumes all costs associated with sending text messages), non-profit organizations, and mobile donation programs.
The move is apparently aimed at recouping overhead costs associated with delivering text-based content to customers. “Just like any business, we reassess our charges to make sure they align with our costs for providing the service and sometimes it becomes necessary to make adjustments,” Verizon Wireless representative Brenda Raney said. “In this instance, this is the first increase the company has implemented since the service began in 2003.”
Verizon’s decision to levy an additional fee on MT vendors could set a precedent that might just put increasing pressure on the booming MT business. Vendors like cellphone coupon startup Cellfire and SMS-search service ChaCha are most affected, but even political campaigns like Obama’s text-message campaign could feel the pinch.
It’s just too bad that the additional MT fee won’t stop SMS text message spam. Way to go Verizon.
[Via: RCRWireless]
Interesting, I would have thought that after all the money I spent to replace my cell phone that I carried insurance on they wouldn’t need to do this.
Verizon is getting on my last nerve. I accidentally knocked my cell phone into the river…. :/ I thought ah ha I have insurance on it. Went to local Verizon store. Oh so in order for me to take advantage of the insurance I’ve been paying I have to have a phone shipped to me? Right….. Ok I need a phone now so — yes — I am stupid.. I will pay the full price because I NEED a phone.
What??? You are counting this as an upgrade before my contract is over and charging me as such?
If I didn’t need the phone I would have let them ship me the phone, and it just doesn’t make GOOD sense that Verizon Wireless lets me pay insurance on my phone yet I can’t use it in a Verizon WIRELESS store.
I will call and complain and nothing will happen.
It just doesn’t MAKE GOOD SENSE Verizon….
So I am home now with my NEW Phone I PAID full price for.
So their charging to push content doesn’t surprise me.
Last nerve Verizon…..Can you hear me now?
It seems to me that Verizon is admitting to violating its users privacy by reading their text messages. What business is it of Verizon who sends its users text messages and what those messages say? If I’m working on a car or property deal and my Realtor or car salesman calls me about it, does Verizon have a right to listen to the conversation and charge the sales staff or company for calling me? It’s the same thing with a text message. If I opt in for political ads or news alerts or updates on products I am interested in, what gives Verizon the right to listen in on my text messages to determine who is contacting me and whether or not that contact included advertising?
If Verizon actually goes through with this charge, we will have to stop sending text message alerts to Verizon customers. It’s simply not a feasible business model by adding 3 cents.
Will this be charging Google’s SMS service?
LOL! @ finiky. Just because you didnt want to wait 24 hours for a replacement phone from Asurion (which most cell phone companies use) your bought a brand new phone at full price. Oh man. hmm $50 phone but wait 24 hours (ish) or $200+ for a phone now…
Bruce L- Verizon isnt violating your privacy by charging companies that send you text messages 3 pennies more. You can easily determine the difference of business text and regular consumer texts w/o reading the text. The source is everything.
I use ChaCha a lot and really like the service, it would be ridiculous to put a death sentence on small companies and start-ups who have such useful services. I can understand not wanting to directly charge the end consumer, but the effects still trickle down. Is Verizon really hurting that much? doubt it…
This is to Finiky above.. Seriously!! When I’ve ordered a phone from Verizon it is almost always delivered THE VERY NEXT DAY!!! Geez.. you can’t go 24hrs without a phone.. You are not that important, I don’t care who you are.. if you can’t go 24 hrs without a CELL phone, you need to re-evaluate your lifestyle. Be thankful you have the option to have insurance on a cell phone, there was a time when it wasn’t so. Shutup and drive on, and quit being to finicky.
Bruce.. my god man.. you don’t know what you’re talking about so don’t worry about it.. this does not affect you nor concern you as an end user.. and NOWHERE in this story does it lead ANYONE to think that Verizon is reading your text. This is what is wrong with the world today.. if people would mind their own business………
Wow, this is rediculous! Verizon Wireless is really showing their greedy side. I can’t believe they would go so far as to put a fee on txt messages whcih the only people that have these txt messages are those who have an unlimited txt plan.
Verizon, I believe that you will be finding urself in the 3rd spot for carriers in the US rather then the 2nd spot ur in right now. You will be pushing more away then you will be bringing them in.
It is very clear that consumers are driven by promotions in the physical world to use the mobile device as a RESPONSE MECHANISM TO INTERACT WITH BRANDS!
Before the proposed increase in costs, Adheadz.com, continued to see Mobile Response rates higher than 15% when Brands run radio, TV and traditional advertising with their Mobile Tag like ‘Text Adheadz to 51684 for More Information”.
The increase of Mobile Tagging, where marketers add their brands’ Keyword and Short Code (like ‘Text Adheadz to 51684 for More Information”) onto their brochures, collateral and marketing outreach, is similar to the use of URL tagging which happened at the onset of the Internet.
However, now, our text messaging programs are in a state of flux, pending confirmation of pricing.
All the best - Scott
Scott Kline
scott@adheadz.com
To Raidium,
Verizon isnt charging the regular consumer 3 pennies, they are charging the companies that SEND the text messages to the regular consumer.. S like that Horoscope text, or that sports score update company is paying not the verizon customer.
well I was contemplating switching to verizion but now in light of the latest news I may need to look elsewhere for my wireless needs, I think it’s just wrong to charge outside carries to text someone. that’s like saying if your a verizon customer your calls are free but if you call a verizon customer your charged.
absolutely unacceptable
I have two friends who use Verizon and they text often. I’ll have to tell them to switch. I think they are at the end of their contract anyway so hopefully I can get them to use someone else. Lol, and I was about to switch to Verizon because they had a phone I liked. Forget that! I’m not going to be a jerk and get my friends charged for my text.
In the meantime is there a way to block texts from verizon numbers?
This is going to hurt a few families that work for SMS services. Verizon puts our jobs in jeopardy over this. I was going to switch to Verizon for phone and internet. Not now. When they may put me out of a job.Thanks for being as greedy as AT&T! You will not be getting any of my money.
Ugh, this hurts my bill each month being out of the Verizon network. I’ve talked most of my friends to switching out of Verizon, but there are a few stragglers waiting for their contracts to be up!
why wait so long replacement phones