Carriers offer different messages on texting

The four national wireless carriers might be in near lock-step when it comes to voice plans, but each take distinctly different tacks when putting together messaging strategies. However, the various flavors of messaging packages-based on in-network, type of message or number of message-may be more confusing to consumers, even as they offer choice.
According to M:Metrics, nearly 48 million people, or 24.5 percent of mobile subscribers, said that they had a text-messaging plan as of October. The company said that in terms of percentage of subscribers on text messaging plans, T-Mobile USA Inc. ranks highest, followed in descending order by Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C.
The general a la carte rates for text messages are 10 cents to send or receive, and 25 cents for multimedia messages. For those who send and receive more than a few messages each month, packages make sense. But the entry point for text-messaging packages has risen in recent years, according to Current Analysis analyst Weston Henderek.
“Carriers used to . generally offer really low-end text-messaging options,” Henderek said. “For a lot of people, now they’re kind of saying ‘you either pay per message or you’ve got to spend like $5 [per month] to get 300 messages.’ . They’ve been bumping up the entry price to get the text-message package in order to bump up their average revenue per user.”
Henderek also noted that while a previous trend in messaging was to charge only for outgoing messages, most carriers have now switched to charging for both incoming and outgoing messages-and that’s a thorn in the side of consumers, who may not necessarily be able to control incoming messages. On the flip side, however, carriers are often including multimedia messaging in bundles with text messaging and treating them as the same, although it’s theoretically more expensive to carry the multimedia messages.
Verizon Wireless is the only nationwide operator to emphasize in-network text messaging, offering unlimited messages among Verizon Wireless subscribers with each of its text packages, as well as a set number of messages able to be sent to the users of other wireless services. Verizon Wireless does not offer an unlimited messaging package, with its limit set at 2,500 messages. All types of messages-text, picture and video-are included in its packages.
The in-networking messaging “works for us, because since the early days of our in-calling program, it was really understood that there is a social-networking component that can be very strong with mobile devices,” said Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson. Potential customers are often going to ask family and friends for recommendations, he said, and “it makes sense to acknowledge that in our pricing plans,” whether they are voice or messaging-based.
And, Nelson added, “It really helps on the bottom line with protecting against churn.”
Sprint Nextel offers a limited number of pure-texting packages, starting at $5 per month for 300 messages and going up to $15 per month for unlimited texting. Picture and video messaging are only included in PCS Vision data packages, which also includes unlimited data use.
Cingular Wireless offers both text bundles and messaging/data packages. For those who want messaging only, packages start at $5 per month for 200 messages of any type and then jump to $20 monthly for 3,000 messages; Cingular does not offer an unlimited texting option. The carrier wraps MMS and SMS into data packages as well, which start at $10 per month for 400 messages and 1 megabyte of data use. The most expensive package from Cingular includes unlimited data use and 3,000 messages, for $40 per month. According to Alecia Bridgwater, Cingular’s director of marketing for messaging, the carrier decided in mid-year to revamp its pricing plans and cut down the number from around a dozen to six. The company’s goal was to simplify messaging so that consumers didn’t worry about different pricing for different types of messages, she said. Cingular also wanted to allow customers to use multiple functionalities on the phone without needing separate plans for each one. Bridgwater said that text messaging is relatively easy for people to pick up, and that messaging helps customers discover other ways to use their phones.
“It generally is very cumulative,” Bridgwater said. “People will start with one function and go to the next thing.”
T-Mobile USA Inc. packages its messages based on the number used, and any type of message is included. The pricing starts at 400 messages for $5 per month, with unlimited messaging available as an add-on for $15 monthly. The carrier takes the “a message is a message” stance, according to T-Mobile USA spokesman Peter Dobrow.
“This way, our customers can concentrate on staying connected . with whichever method suits them best, rather than worry about remembering costs associated with different messaging formats,” Dobrow said.
The various options offered by carriers provide a great deal of choice for consumers, Henderek said-however, it might be overwhelming or confusing. He said that carriers have been faced with trying to balance ARPU-enhancing choices versus creating customer confusion, and that the trend is toward simpler, MMS- and SMS-inclusive messaging packages. “In general, the move has been more toward the simplicity of being able to send any kind of message,” Henderek said. But, he added, “The price for doing that has moved up.”