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> course they use data which has a non-zero cost. It's odd that you keep mentioning cost. Text messages are often metered at some ludicrous rate (or sold at a

> course they use data which has a non-zero cost. It's odd that you keep mentioning cost. Text messages are often metered at some ludicrous rate (or sold at a similarly ludicrous unlimited monthly addition). > virtually any phone in a given area. From what I understand, outside of the US, text messages are not quite as reliable. I don't know if that's cause or effect of the fact that outside of the US nearly everyone uses WhatsApp or WeChat.

heinrich5991 7y ago
They're also very reliable in Germany. What are the countries where they're unreliable?
- londons_explore 7y ago
  Text messages on some networks in the UK sometimes have a 10-15 minute delay at busy times. Even on good days, there is usually a 10 second or so delay. That makes them impractical for realtime chat, and even makes 'verification codes' a pain.
- ubercow13 7y ago
  I have a UK number and the amount of times SMS verification codes fail to appear is huge. There are companies specifically selling services for this that can’t even send a SMS to a first world phone number. I haven’t used it for personal communication for years but I do not remember it being particularly reliable when I did. SMS from my perspective is absolute rubbish.
  - petepete 7y ago
    Perhaps it varies by network, mine have seemed instant for years (with O2 then Tesco Mobile).
- tinus_hn 7y ago
  It’s just reliable compared to internet connectivity which is terrible in Germany. Poorly connected Edge all around.
Silhouette 7y ago
Text messages are ubiquitous here in the UK, and normally work fine. For better or worse, many online systems now rely on them for 2FA as well. As another data point, the choice of personal mobile plans in the UK is now almost entirely dominated by how much data allowance you want. Apart from some budget plans for people or devices that don't need significant amounts of data at all, the number of minutes of calling time or SMS messages you send is unlikely to be a significant factor in the plan you choose or the price you pay any more, being practically unlimited in most cases.
- ubercow13 7y ago
  Not to foreign numbers, though

heinrich5991 7y ago

They're also very reliable in Germany. What are the countries where they're unreliable?

londons_explore 7y ago
Text messages on some networks in the UK sometimes have a 10-15 minute delay at busy times. Even on good days, there is usually a 10 second or so delay. That makes them impractical for realtime chat, and even makes 'verification codes' a pain.
ubercow13 7y ago
I have a UK number and the amount of times SMS verification codes fail to appear is huge. There are companies specifically selling services for this that can’t even send a SMS to a first world phone number. I haven’t used it for personal communication for years but I do not remember it being particularly reliable when I did. SMS from my perspective is absolute rubbish.
- petepete 7y ago
  Perhaps it varies by network, mine have seemed instant for years (with O2 then Tesco Mobile).
tinus_hn 7y ago
It’s just reliable compared to internet connectivity which is terrible in Germany. Poorly connected Edge all around.

Silhouette 7y ago

Text messages are ubiquitous here in the UK, and normally work fine. For better or worse, many online systems now rely on them for 2FA as well. As another data point, the choice of personal mobile plans in the UK is now almost entirely dominated by how much data allowance you want. Apart from some budget plans for people or devices that don't need significant amounts of data at all, the number of minutes of calling time or SMS messages you send is unlikely to be a significant factor in the plan you choose or the price you pay any more, being practically unlimited in most cases.

ubercow13 7y ago
Not to foreign numbers, though