Users to spurn SMS due to inflated fees: survey - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Users to spurn SMS due to inflated fees: survey

By Rachel Lebihan, ZDNet Australia
January 17, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Users-to-spurn-SMS-due-to-inflated-fees-survey/0,130061791,120263003,00.htm

Mobile service vendors may be ramping up the costs of sending text messages but some users, fed up with rising prices in the Australian telecommunications sector, say the moves will see them curb their SMS habits.

SMS price adjustments in the telcos' favour have hit the headlines again this month, following Optus's move to lift charges from 22 cents to 25 cents on the back of Telstra'a own inflating SMS fees of late.

However, 82.5 percent of respondents to a ZDNet survey said the price boost introduced by local carriers would see them sending less SMS messages. Only 17.5 percent, or 66 of 377 respondents, said they would continue SMSing at the same rate as they did prior to the recent price realignments.

-The hide of these financial bullies...mobile telephones are a great invention, but I can't help but think these suppliers are just exploiting the public once again, all because of pure greed. I for one will certainly not be using their services," said disgruntled ZDNet reader Gerard McNally from NSW.

Optus claims that its SMS customers send on average 39 messages a month, but refused to be drawn into discussion about how its heightened charge would impact the number of messages customers actually sent.

However, Virgin Mobile communications manager Nathan Rosenberg said whilst the recently increased SMS charges may see a -temporary adjustment" in the amount of messages sent, customers will be -hooked back onto it reasonably quickly," he said.

-The big operators are counting on the fact that it won't curb demand," he said.

Despite fresh concerns that the market will suffer a duopoly effect now that the country's second largest carrier has joined Telstra rather than choosing to compete with the dominant telco, Optus said customers are free to choose -and we encourage them always to do so".

Virgin in the meantime is hoping that customers will do exactly that and is urging consumers to reconsider their carrier options. -It's easy to find a cheaper SMS rate out there if you're looking for one," Rosenburg said, adding that Virgin could -absolutely" guarantee that its 22-cent charge would not increase this year.