I’m in a country where this is apparently still the case. It seems that the major mobile carriers all charge for text messages to other networks.
WhatsApp is free regardless of your mobile provider. Most here even provide free access to WhatsApp that doesn’t count toward your data allotment.
Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Which is crazy because it literally uses spare bandwidth they didn’t use (other than for the clock updates and other housekeeping) and the amount of data used is infinitesimal compared to voice or other data.
This is why it was free at first as it didn’t cost the carrier anything more. This changed quickly when they figured they could charge for it with rates as high as 20 cents per message in the US. This lead to crazy bills like $5,000.
www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/…/83-402630313
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS
njordomir@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I remember having only 200 SMS per month and having to ration them carefully because the plans were structured in a way where ordering more resulted in a big price jump.
Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I was at the tail end of pagers so being able to text was normal but using a cell phone to talk was nedt great thing. I was always confused why people wanted to go back to texting when they could just talk.
It wasn’t until I had a phone with a physical keyboard that I finally started texting to any degree. It never made sense during the Nokia era for me because it was slow and unintuitive.
njordomir@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I actually agree with you, why would I want to text on an itty birth screen. Nevertheless, despite all my efforts, I can’t seem to get myself to switch to those short voice memos you can send in Signal and similar apps. My brother is a pro with those, but it just feels odd to me.