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It's quite a stretch to say that Facebook's purchase of Beluga will lead to a "bust up" of SMS. SMS will be around for a long time because it's compatible with

It's quite a stretch to say that Facebook's purchase of Beluga will lead to a "bust up" of SMS. SMS will be around for a long time because it's compatible with every cell phone, regardless of OS or carrier and it's compatible internationally, even in countries where Facebook is blocked. This sounds like the start of a cycle of "death of email" style stories for SMS.

sp332 16y ago
It's not going to kill SMS, it's going to drive prices down by competing in an overlapping market.
- davidmathers 16y ago
  It's already begun. With Virgin Mobile I pay $25/month for unlimited 3G data and unlimited SMS.
  - corin_ 16y ago
    In the UK (I can't speak to other regions) unlimited SMS plans became common because the networks realised it was a great way to hook young people - and it's been available for several years.
    - pyre 16y ago
      Unlimited SMS plans are common in the US, but the 'cartel' part comes from the pricing structure: $10/month for unlimited $0.35/text sent (without an unlimited plan) $0.25/text received (without an unlimited plan) The pricing structure is there to drive you to the unlimited model by price gouging you if you remain ala carte. They even make it difficult for you to turn off the ability to received text messages. This way when you rack up the charges from receiving text messages, you are up-sold to the unlimited plan rather than given the option to disable receiving of text messages. [This is also rather annoying when someone spams you with a text message advert... b/c now you've just PAID to get an advertisement that you didn't want.]
      - corin_ 16y ago
        Paying to receive is the part of the US system that I don't understand, not just when it comes to SMS. In the UK/Europe (and afaik most other non-US regions?) receiving never costs - even if I receive a call when in another country, doesn't cost me anything.
        Skalman 16y ago
        That's not true in Sweden. Most plans in Sweden charge when you receive a call in another country, but never for an SMS.
        msh 16y ago
        Same in denmark, it costs to recieve a call in anothe rcountry, but not sms messages. The reason is that you can decline to recieve a call, but you cant decline a sms.
        smiler 16y ago
        Do you check your bill? It does cost to receive calls in other countries (cheaper than dialling out, so always get people to call you if you can)
        corin_ 16y ago
        Guess from the other replies I was wrong to over-generalise about Europe, but it certainly doesn't cost me to receive calls when abroad (I'm on Vodafone UK), and I know the same is true at least for O2 and Orange.
        smiler 16y ago
        I'm on O2 and they definitely do charge. Take a look at http://www.vodafone.co.uk/personal/price-plans/managing-my-costs/travelling-abroad/ http://www.vodafone.co.uk/personal/price-plans/managing-my-c... and you will see Vodafone do charge as well. Perhaps you have Vodafone passport which makes it cheaper? Sorry to be a pedant, but I wouldn't want you to end up with a big bill you didn't know about!
omfut 16y ago
Its not going to kill the SMS. However, its going to impact operators revenue. SMS has been the cash cow to operators for a longtime now. The cost for sending/receiving SMS is almost zero except for the network maintenance cost. So this will definitely impact operators revenue. Mobile VoIP didn't kill circuit switch calls, but did dent operators voice revenue especially international calls.

sp332 16y ago

It's not going to kill SMS, it's going to drive prices down by competing in an overlapping market.

davidmathers 16y ago
It's already begun. With Virgin Mobile I pay $25/month for unlimited 3G data and unlimited SMS.
- corin_ 16y ago
  In the UK (I can't speak to other regions) unlimited SMS plans became common because the networks realised it was a great way to hook young people - and it's been available for several years.
  - pyre 16y ago
    Unlimited SMS plans are common in the US, but the 'cartel' part comes from the pricing structure: $10/month for unlimited $0.35/text sent (without an unlimited plan) $0.25/text received (without an unlimited plan) The pricing structure is there to drive you to the unlimited model by price gouging you if you remain ala carte. They even make it difficult for you to turn off the ability to received text messages. This way when you rack up the charges from receiving text messages, you are up-sold to the unlimited plan rather than given the option to disable receiving of text messages. [This is also rather annoying when someone spams you with a text message advert... b/c now you've just PAID to get an advertisement that you didn't want.]
    - corin_ 16y ago
      Paying to receive is the part of the US system that I don't understand, not just when it comes to SMS. In the UK/Europe (and afaik most other non-US regions?) receiving never costs - even if I receive a call when in another country, doesn't cost me anything.
      - Skalman 16y ago
        That's not true in Sweden. Most plans in Sweden charge when you receive a call in another country, but never for an SMS.
        msh 16y ago
        Same in denmark, it costs to recieve a call in anothe rcountry, but not sms messages. The reason is that you can decline to recieve a call, but you cant decline a sms.
      - smiler 16y ago
        Do you check your bill? It does cost to receive calls in other countries (cheaper than dialling out, so always get people to call you if you can)
        corin_ 16y ago
        Guess from the other replies I was wrong to over-generalise about Europe, but it certainly doesn't cost me to receive calls when abroad (I'm on Vodafone UK), and I know the same is true at least for O2 and Orange.
        smiler 16y ago
        I'm on O2 and they definitely do charge. Take a look at http://www.vodafone.co.uk/personal/price-plans/managing-my-costs/travelling-abroad/ http://www.vodafone.co.uk/personal/price-plans/managing-my-c... and you will see Vodafone do charge as well. Perhaps you have Vodafone passport which makes it cheaper? Sorry to be a pedant, but I wouldn't want you to end up with a big bill you didn't know about!

omfut 16y ago

Its not going to kill the SMS. However, its going to impact operators revenue. SMS has been the cash cow to operators for a longtime now. The cost for sending/receiving SMS is almost zero except for the network maintenance cost. So this will definitely impact operators revenue. Mobile VoIP didn't kill circuit switch calls, but did dent operators voice revenue especially international calls.