For ~150 other countries, yes, carriers charge per SMS
Comment on Why does most of the world use WhatsApp as their messaging app rather than RCS/SMS?
AA5B@lemmy.world 1 day agoStill? SMS used to cost me money as the cell vendors tried to maximize their profit on new technology. But I don’t think that’s been true here since smartphones
XeroxCool@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
remon@ani.social 1 day ago
Yes, they still cost money in most of Europe, which is why nobody uses them.
The only sms I’ve received in the last few years were roaming-infos, voice mail reminders and 2FA codes.
AA5B@lemmy.world 1 day ago
That’s crazy. Even pre-smartphone, there was always the argument that sms costs less than the effort to meter and bill for them …. And maybe that’s the entire difference between the is using sns/rcs, and Europe using WhatsApp
puz@piefed.social 23 hours ago
Still?
In the EU yes and no. Most mobile internet plans here include unlimited SMS and phone calls as well. At least I know very few people who choose to have plans that include ONLY internet and those plans tend to be only marginally cheaper. However, the unlimited SMS and phonecalls (for most plans) only apply for messaging inside the EU. So if you regularly message friends outside EU you again either pay per SMS/call or have to get a more expansive plan that also includes that.
So overall it’s the most convenient (and mostly cheapest) to do all messaging and calls over mobile data or WiFi
swelter_spark@reddthat.com 10 hours ago
Some VoIP plans still charge per text/call. It’s cheaper if you don’t use much.