OMG! Text message charges soar

It's the communication method of choice these days, but texting two-liners can totally add up.

11/12/2007

By Jennifer Dickler

Texting your boss that you'll "brb" (be right back) can save a lot of time and energy, but chances are it won't save you money. Although teenagers have been driving the trend, nearly everyone is texting (also known as SMS, or "short message service"). According to Forrester Research, now more than one-third of all cell phone subscribers are on board with "txt" - and sending almost a billion messages each day.But that convenience comes at a price. If you don't shell out for a texting package, which can cost $3 to $20 a month depending on the provider and the plan, most carriers will charge you for each message whether sent or received, read or unread, solicited or unsolicited. More Raw Deals And the price per text is on the rise. Earlier this year, T-Mobile, AT&T (Charts, Fortune 500) and Verizon (Charts, Fortune 500) raised their rates to 15 cents a text, from 10 cents, while Sprint (Charts, Fortune 500) upped the cost to 20 cents per domestic text, and those prices get even higher across the board for international messaging.That can really add up. Especially with incoming texts - even spam - that you can't control. Paying per text can exponentially impact your monthly bill....

more of this story: http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/08/pf/raw_deal_texting/index.htm