Technobabble

OMGINBD

Posted by on May 25, 2007 | 3 Comments

$1,100 in cell phone text messaging charges? The Washington Post ran an article last Sunday about a teenager whose “incessant text-messaging racked up a huge phone bill on the family’s wireless plan.” Like it’s news that the cell phone companies are ripping us all off blind for those text messaging transgressions. It’s an all too familiar theme here at Rancho Indebto. My daughter did the very same thing, resulting in a huge cell phone bill three years ago, thankfully not to the tune of $1,100…

But noooo (in my best Belushi)… it wasn’t $1,100 back then, just $150. My wife got a cell phone bill that was 150 pages long that month.

Gee, a dollar a page…

I can’t help but think how many families hit the same wall… opting for the unlimited texting plan only after an insane month of endless SMS messages and pointless Twittering.

So now, AT&T Wireless is running an “OMGINBD” commercial, hyping its unlimited texting plan. Uhhhh… Oh My God It’s Not A Big Deal? First it causes great pain, then it pours salt in the wound and taunts us.

We can only hope the unlimited texting will be standard with the iPhone packages.

[tags]SMS, cell phone plan, AT&T Wireless[/tags]

  • Lance

    It’s well known that teens love to text. To not acknowledge that is to be in denial. So, my take (and I am a parent myself), is that to give a teen or pre-teen a cell phone with texting capability, and NOT set limits, or at least sign up for the unlimited package up front…well, you might as well just write a blank check to the carrier. An $1100 cell phone bill, in my mind as a parent, is not entirely a reflection of “how the carrier’s are ripping us off” (see below), but rather a reflection of society in general, and how so many problems today are a result of parents not setting and enforcing guidelines. Kids NEED limits. Kids NEED to know that actions have consequences. Kids DO NOT need to see their parents call in and curse out some hapless CSR over what THEIR kid did.

    Back to the charges. Yes, it’s well known that carriers incur just a fraction of the 10 or 15 cents they charge us for a text message. How else could they afford to offer unlimited for $10-$20? However, I honestly don’t have a problem with that price. It’s a free market, and the cost will go to what the market will bear. If we (individually) have a problem with it, then most carriers also offer the option to block all texts at no cost. Problem solved. If we (as a group of consumers) have a problem with it, then the solution is to collectively let the carriers know. Why else would Cingular and Verizon “suddenly” start offering an unlimited option for messaging? Out of the goodness of their corporate hearts?

    No, the problem *I* (and many others) have with the 10 or 15 cents, is that it applies to *incoming* texts as well as outgoing. Outgoing? Fine, you initiate that. But, unlike a call or a picture message, you can’t reject an incoming text. It’s sent, and you get billed for it. Period. *That’s* the travesty in my opinion. That *nearly* all carriers charge for something that’s optional, that you never requested, yet you have no choice but to accept it when it comes. You’re *only* two options are to just pay for it (or get a package) or put a block on all texts.

    Either incoming texts should be free, or their should be some way to reject them to avoid being charged.

  • http://lockergnome.com/loveduckie Luc

    150 pages of just billing?
    Geez, what a waste of paper. That was my real concern…

    If the phone bill was alot, think the cost of paper & ink used to print out that bill!!

    As a fairly matured teen, i’ve learned to limit myself a bit more with my contract as at the end of the day.. my pocket money/job pays for it.

    And if I can recall.. the iPhone was pretty expensive upon release? I don’t think the price and packaging of it has gone down whatsoever!

  • Silver Fang

    Get unlimited texting and then you don’t have to worry about expenses.

    If you really want to limit your teen, get them a prepaid phone like a Kajeet, which allows you to disable texting at certain times of the day.

    Better yet, insist they get a job or do chores to help pay for their texiing. If they have a stake in it, they will be more responsible.