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Yes, at least for me it is. My pre-paid plan (~$14/mo) gets me 4GB data but only 50 SMS. I also get 3GB of free WhatsApp data. There is no prepaid plan with unl

Yes, at least for me it is. My pre-paid plan (~$14/mo) gets me 4GB data but only 50 SMS. I also get 3GB of free WhatsApp data. There is no prepaid plan with unlimited SMS.

JohnFen 3y ago
> 4GB data but only 50 SMS. Woah. I knew there were still places that charged for or metered SMS use, but I had no idea that the restrictions were that severe.
- imachine1980_ 3y ago
  you can still buy lots of sms for cheap, and free sms plans(i think i have) but they aren't included because nobody uses them, i not read sms who isn't from 2fa in more than 7 years, it is publicity, scams, and miss calls.
  - dools 3y ago
    "i not read sms who isn't from 2fa in more than 7 years, it is publicity, scams, and miss calls." Funnily enough the volume of scam calls and txt that I receive via WhatsApp is why I have it disabled. The only reason I ever use it is because we sometimes need cross platform group messaging to organise plans with other families or school groups, then I delete the app again
- rtpg 3y ago
  I think I pay for every SMS? For a thing that’s supposedly free it’s wild how much of a money maker it is for people
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    Technically, I do as well, but it's baked into my cell phone bill. I think I get something like 10,000 SMS messages/mo without incurring an extra charge, and the extra charge if I go over is small.
dools 3y ago
That's mental, no wonder everyone uses WhatsApp! EDIT: out of curiosity, which country are you in?
- davchana 3y ago
  Dont know about OP, but in my place, India, Whatsapp is lifeline of society. Wedding invites, sales pamphlets, news, wishes, purchases, money transfer, book sales, car rentals, friends to friends money transfer, progress reports, school communication to parents, 100s of types of clubs, almost everything gets sorted on Whatsapp. The activity which gets limited by Whatsapp (like members in group, need bot etc) moves to Telegram.
- leesalminen 3y ago
  Costa Rica. Pura vida!
lynguist 3y ago
The provider gives you 4 billion bytes over 4G/5G plus 50 * 140 bytes = 7000 bytes over SMS. Quite shocking, yes. SMS used to be free in the early 90s until the providers figured out that they can charge for it. They priced the 140 byte transmission at 0.20 CHF in Switzerland, and in some plans you still pay 0.20 CHF for 140 bytes over SMS, while you can get unlimited data.

Yes, at least for me it is. My pre-paid plan (~$14/mo) gets me 4GB data but only 50 SMS. I also get 3GB of free WhatsApp data. There is no prepaid plan with unlimited SMS.

JohnFen 3y ago

> 4GB data but only 50 SMS. Woah. I knew there were still places that charged for or metered SMS use, but I had no idea that the restrictions were that severe.

imachine1980_ 3y ago
you can still buy lots of sms for cheap, and free sms plans(i think i have) but they aren't included because nobody uses them, i not read sms who isn't from 2fa in more than 7 years, it is publicity, scams, and miss calls.
- dools 3y ago
  "i not read sms who isn't from 2fa in more than 7 years, it is publicity, scams, and miss calls." Funnily enough the volume of scam calls and txt that I receive via WhatsApp is why I have it disabled. The only reason I ever use it is because we sometimes need cross platform group messaging to organise plans with other families or school groups, then I delete the app again
rtpg 3y ago
I think I pay for every SMS? For a thing that’s supposedly free it’s wild how much of a money maker it is for people
- JohnFen 3y ago
  Technically, I do as well, but it's baked into my cell phone bill. I think I get something like 10,000 SMS messages/mo without incurring an extra charge, and the extra charge if I go over is small.

dools 3y ago

That's mental, no wonder everyone uses WhatsApp! EDIT: out of curiosity, which country are you in?

davchana 3y ago
Dont know about OP, but in my place, India, Whatsapp is lifeline of society. Wedding invites, sales pamphlets, news, wishes, purchases, money transfer, book sales, car rentals, friends to friends money transfer, progress reports, school communication to parents, 100s of types of clubs, almost everything gets sorted on Whatsapp. The activity which gets limited by Whatsapp (like members in group, need bot etc) moves to Telegram.
leesalminen 3y ago
Costa Rica. Pura vida!

lynguist 3y ago

The provider gives you 4 billion bytes over 4G/5G plus 50 * 140 bytes = 7000 bytes over SMS. Quite shocking, yes. SMS used to be free in the early 90s until the providers figured out that they can charge for it. They priced the 140 byte transmission at 0.20 CHF in Switzerland, and in some plans you still pay 0.20 CHF for 140 bytes over SMS, while you can get unlimited data.