Leicester (UK) – Here is an interesting math exercise that, if you are really into text messaging, can get you thinking twice whether you continue to use your SMS service or simply make a call next time. In a best case scenario, the comparison of the cost of text messaging is just another sign how overpriced these services are, at least when they aren’t included in a flat-fee plan.

We all know that text messaging isn’t cheap, so the news that you are getting ripped off by your cellphone provider for such a service isn’t new. However, Nigel Bannister, a space scientist at the University of Leicester came up with an interesting idea to compare the cost of text messages – he compared it to downloading data from the Hubble space telescope.

Based on the UK market, he took a cost of 5 pence per SMS and assumed that a user would always use the full capacity of each message – 160 characters. Since each character has just 7 bits, each message has a maximum of 140 bytes (160x7/8). The cost per megabyte, which holds 1,048,576 bytes, therefore comes to £374.49 (7490 text messages x 5 pence).

We took a quick look at the U.S. market and found that T-Mobile charges $0.15 per text message, which brings the per-megabyte price to a stunning $1,123.50. Yes, you can trim the cost by purchasing a (domestic) message bundle: T-Mobile charges $5 for 400 messages ($0.0125 per message), $10 for 1000 messages ($0.01 per message) and $15 for unlimited messages.

Bannister said that NASA told him that download 1 MB of data from Hubble costs about £8.85, or about $17. However, that cost only includes the transmission of the data to the first point of contact on the ground. So he made some assumptions what it may cost NASA to get this 1 MB of data into its computers and came up with a range of £8.85 to £85, which translates into a range of $17 to $166. Converted into a per text-message cost, Hubble transmissions would cost about 2.2 cents per message.

In any case, this per-megabyte comparison undercuts the text messaging rate by a far margin, unless you are not subscribing to an all-you-can-eat flat fee.

Yes, we know, it is a questionable comparison and only some of us are writing 250 or more text messages per day. But we are still left with a sensation that cellphone text messaging is a bit pricey.

Pay as you go

May 12, 2008 15:46     

This article reminds me of the time I used Verizon EVDO for my Internet connection when I was waiting for a proper ISP to be installed. I told them I wanted Internet access ($40/month) and they said okay and I was off. I used my cell phone as a modem via USB and surfed, exchanged e-mail, downloaded patches, etc. -nothing huge. The next month I got a bill for over $5,200. I was on the phone with them pretty quick. Turns out they forgot to put the flat rate plan on my account and I was using the pay-as-you-go rate. Fortunately they fixed my bill, but I pitty the fool who uses their pay-as-you-go service!

Shaun report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

hmm

May 12, 2008 16:03     

why can't texting be free? =(
john J.D. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Re: hmm

May 12, 2008 16:48     

As long as they can get someone to pay the fee, they will be charging for it. My recommendation is don't use your phone, use your computer.
Overkill report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Its a lucrative business

May 12, 2008 16:49     

I currently have a uk O2 mobile on pay-as-you-go, using an old tariff I've have for years which gives 300 free messages a month, provided you top up by a minimum of £10. If I were to use all my credit and free messages in texts, that would be 2.5p per message, which I think is a relative bargain - provided thats all I were to use it for (as one gets stung on other things). But even so, thats far from the theoretical 1p charge NASA would make. Still, the research has its point - it's ludicrous that NASA charges less to send data from space than phone companies charge for sending a small packet of data over a well-establihed terrestial network (they probably send the data over IP connections between the mobile masts, so it's really quite silly, as it costs them close to nil to do so) The ultimate scandal though is international rates for texts - until recently, sending any text abroad would have cost me 49p per message. I havn't been abroad since the european decree on the matter, so I dont know if this has changed much, but what a joke that was/is!

Jo-mo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

See link...

May 12, 2008 17:35     

http://msgboard.snopes.com/pho...erizon.jpg
Henrik report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ridiculous

May 12, 2008 21:35     

Me and my wife have a shared plan it costs her $0.15 to send me a text $0.15 for me to receive it for a total of $0.30 per text to each other. Just Crazy. That is why we don't use it. We can call and talk to each other unlimited for the cost of our plan. And we all know that NASA is a notoriously over-spender.
TomT report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Nigel Bannister Has Omitted Almost All Hubble Costs

May 13, 2008 01:12     

This is not a good comparison. Nigel Bannister has omitted almost all costs NASA has incurred building and placing the Hubble satellite into orbit in the first place. Private companies cannot omit costs because they must post profits on their income statements to survive. AMD is a good example of a company posting huge losses and its survival is now in question. Hubble initially had a budget of $400M. By the time the Discovery shuttle released Hubble into its orbit on 24 April 1990, total costs were $2.5 Billion, a HUGE cost overrun! In addition, 4 manned maintenance missions were required to keep Hubble running. A fifth and final maintenance mission is planned for Sept. 2008. Even so, at least 2 sensors aboard Hubble have permanently failed. The total cost of the Hubble telescope project is now estimated to be around $4.5 to $6 Billion. I highly doubt Nigel Bannister has taken the total cost of the Hubble project into account: http://tinyurl.com/6or4wb Nevertheless, I consider the Hubble telescope project a great success and a crucial tool for man's advancement in scientific knowledge. The Hubble telescope can see so far away, it can see events which occurred centuries ago.

Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -3

Re: Hubble Cost

May 13, 2008 07:53     

You act like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc don't incure expenses while maintaining their networks. Your post seems to be offtopic as well. No one cares how much it cost to maintain the equipment or how much it cost to deploy it. This was merely a comparison of how much money it cost to transmit data. Why you brought up the cost to maintain anything doesn't make any sense.
John report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -5

I found this out the hard way.

May 13, 2008 08:16     

I found that out the hard way when a few months ago over the course of one month I got my bill to find out I had $18 and some change in text messages. At the time I hadn't added having a monthly set number of text messages you can send to my plan so I was paying per message sent/received from my carrier Sprint. I rarely used text messages up to that point so that's why I hadn't added it to the my plan. After that I promptly added the 300 text messages per month for $5 to my plan. Lesson learned.

rodneyg79 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

RE: Re: Hubble Cost

May 13, 2008 09:18     

Actually, in the first paragraph, I did mention how private companies incur costs. Private companies must calculate their costs per unit of service and add a small profit. My point is very much on topic since the Hubble Telescope Project also has costs. It is debatable which costs are higher. The Hubble Project is a single satellite with a few tracking stations. Private telecom networks have many ground sites, hundreds (if not thousands) of local transmission towers, and multiple satellites. It's incredible that anyone would disregard how much it costs to build, deploy, and maintain the capital equipment. If the equipment isn't built, nothing will exist to transmit your data. Try accessing the Internet without your computer and modem if you don't understand this.

Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Re hubble vs texting costs

May 13, 2008 11:23     

Regardless of the costs to maintian and build the cell infrastructure and hubble telescope, we all know that texting is a huge profit center for wireless companies, especially here in the USA. I have had the same plan with T-mobile for over 3 years and never had any surprises. All of sudden I get my bill and it jumped $60 over the normal fixed rate plan. After checking the usage, I found that most of that $60 was from fees for RECEIVING text messages. My wife had given her cell number to a friend who then started sending 10-20 messages a day. The cell companies hold you hostage because they do not give you any way to opt out of receiving a text message. Needless to say I called T-mobile and added the unlimited texting. They still made a hefty profit for the month that I didn't have the unlimited text, and now they make another $15 for a service that costs them $.01 to run. It's just another example of American companies gouging their customers to make sure their stockholders are happy and their CEO's make millions.

jcwbnimble report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

why even text

May 13, 2008 15:47     

why do people text instead of call? because kids are in classroom and is not listening to the teacher. texting always remind me of the day of beepers. it's so outdated..I don't want it.
ha report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

RE: Why Even Text?

May 13, 2008 18:26     

Yes, that would be the next issue. Why do people even text? Unless you have a flat plan, it's expensive. Plus, it takes forever to tap out even a small message on a 10 key keyboard unless you have one of those mini full keyboards. There are only two real uses of texting I can think of, either leaving a short communication between two people or many text messages between a computer and a person. If a person can't or doesn't want to speak to another person, he/she could leave 1 text message quickly. This is what Britney Spears did when she notified her husband she wanted a divorce. LOL. An example of the other texting use would be if you had Stock, options, or futures trading software automatically trading the market, you weren't there, and you set it to send you emails to your cellphone every time the software made a trade. Of course, if didn't know what you were doing and created lousy trading algorithms, you could go broke and not even be sitting at your computer. These are the only 2 practical uses I can think of for texting. BTW, if you value your privacy, you will NOT use texting. Cellphone companies store text messages; they do NOT discard them. I am sure someone, paid by the media, read Britney Spears's message even while her hubby was reading it. LOL.

Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

jcwbnimble, RE: Opting Out of T-Mobile Texting

May 13, 2008 19:37     

jcwbnimble, actually there is a way to opt out of receiving text messages. You must log into your T-Mobile.COM account and create text message filters to stop all messages. Unfortunately, it currently only works when receiving messages from the Internet. It does not work when receiving messages from other cellphones. I have repeatedly called T-Mobile over this issue. They even gave me a 30 message credit because I was receiving unwanted messages. The operator told me they are working on filtering out all text messages and their system should be updated by July. That's what they claim anyway. The operator told me her most asked question is when will customers be able to filter out all text messages.

Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: why even text?

May 14, 2008 09:41     

Because texting is fast. Once you learn to speed text you can send a message in three to five seconds. Text version: "SQL svr dwn. HLP!" Voice chat version: (after five rings) Jane: Hello. Ralf: Hi. Jane: Hey, did you get the memo on space marmots eating the cat6 in the cable room? Ralf: Just txt it to me. I will check it out when I get a chance. I wonder if you could check something for me. I am out in the field, but I think the SQL server is down. could you check it out? Jane: Not a problem. I bet the space marmots ate the cables again. Next time just send me a text. Voice chat is overkill for many applications.

Ralf The Dog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE: RE: Why even text?

May 16, 2008 00:20     

Or... Text Version: "SQL svr dwn. HLP!" Beep beep "wats rong wit it" Beep beep "nt sure" Beep beep "ok i check asap. did u no space marmots 8 the cable again?" Beep beep " no i didnt thanks" *thought - Ouch my thumb hurts now* Voice version *ring ring* "Hi, There's a problem with the SQL Server" "Ok I'll look into it. By the way, I think the Space marmots ate through the cable again" "ok, I'll have a look" "thanks" "Bye" "Bye" *Thought - I like having interaction with humans*

Mr Comment report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Also...

May 16, 2008 00:21     

... With a text you don't know if they've received it unless they text back. By actually talking to them you know instantly that they have the message.
Mr Comment report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0