Chair of antitrust Senate subcommittee wants to know why text messages cost so much money

smsanti

It turns out we’re not the only ones concerned about the (unnecessary?) rise in the cost of sending a text message. This time, though, it’s someone who may actually be able to do something about it.

Sen. Herb Kohl, who’s the chair of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, recently sent a letter to several cellphone companies (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mo) asking them to explain why it costs so much to send a simple text message. He wondered aloud why these companies all decided to raise SMS rates at that same time to essentially the same price, calling it “inconsistent” with the type of competition seen in the rest of the cellphone market.

I don’t think we should expect EU-like prices caps, but at least someone is calling out these companies. There’s no reason that a simple text message should cost 20 cents.