Verizon Wireless, which allowed companies to send SMS to it’s subscribers without a fee, will be charging 3 cents per message processed on it’s network from November 1. This step by Verizon will surely affect the companies who use SMS as the biggest advertising tool. Everything from text alerts to interactive voting notifications and SMS search will be costing the companies. According to the email notification sent out by the carrier, the fee will apply to standard and premium programs, but not to text-giving or free-to-end-user campaigns.
Verizon’s spokesperson said: “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. In this instance, this is the first increase the company has implemented since the service began in 2003. This increase does not impact the charges Verizon Wireless customers pay for text messages nor does it impact charitable campaigns.”

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