While its true that SMS used to cost per message (and outrageously at that) unlimited SMS/MMS (AKA, unlimited text) plans were cheaper (and on some carriers, pr

While its true that SMS used to cost per message (and outrageously at that) unlimited SMS/MMS (AKA, unlimited text) plans were cheaper (and on some carriers, predate) than unlimited data, often being only $10 a month or so as an add-on. Unlimited talk & text plans were relatively common as well. In the EU for instance, the reverse was true. Particularly, unlimited data was cheap and affordable, where as SMS was quite costly (even more than in the US in some cases) so data heavy apps were easier to adopt. Hence, WhatsApp, Telegram etc. gaining so much popularity. iMessage was introduced much later to the rich messaging market than these apps in those countries (because mobile messaging apps were cheap to adopt in markets where mobile data is cheap). There is much more competition in those countries with cheap mobile data in the rich messaging services space. In the US, unlimited data has had a more sordid history, and SMS / MMS had a much bigger adoption rate early on