Pancho Pistolas's Journal: Oligopoly collusion? When did *your* text rates go up?

I just this: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/business/28digi.html

It's a good read, and I highly recommend it for anyone who owns a cell phone and uses text-messaging. The article is a NY-Times expose' on recent text-messaging rate increases and some uncomfortable questions the big four wireless carriers don't seem to want to answer-- from a U.S. Senator who happens to chair the anti-trust committee. The article also mentions some class-action lawsuits filed since then.

It was a total wake-up call for me! I'm re-posting links to it to help spread the word-- it's my hope that everybody with a cell-phone will read this and pause a bit, especially since all of us have friends who we can talk to on different phone plans-- to compare notes for the past two years on how all our text rates went up all of the sudden and at about the same time.

And then I hope that people will join in contacting their legislators in Congress and the Senate, to bring this topic up for "active" discussion. And then pass the story along!

I didn't actually get a cell phone until somewhat recently, on a pay-as-you-go plan. I saw this a win-win, as text messages were a nickel, phone calls were ten cents a minute (plus $1 any day I phoned). It seemed like a fair deal, since-- unlike my friends-- I was using it once in a blue moon, mainly for texts, and was spending an average of about $5-8 a month (on average) for my cell use. And I wanted to keep my land line. I figured it was a good deal for all involved.

Within two months, my text rates doubled to ten cents. Well, I figured that might happen. Then a few months later, they jumped to 20 cents, coinciding with a new "cost-saving" program where I could get unlimited text-messaging for $5 a month. Hello, my rates just doubled...because of text messages? So I looked at the other phone plans and talked to my friends and...hello? They all went up at the same time?

I was a little curious why text messaging got so expensive all of the sudden, especially since the world at large was already paying less than us for the same services. I did a little research and discovered that pretty much the rest of the developed world (and many third-world countries) were paying less for cell than we were. England and Japan in particular pay far, far less than we do for comparable services. This seemed counter-intuitive.

Then I dug a bit more and discovered a curious nugget: most of the rest of the world doesn't support or allow the exclusive contract plans for cell phones without a pay-as-you-go option available. In fact, in a few places, pay-as-you-go is the only way they'll allow business.

So... 1.) Why do the carriers in the U.S. all play by a different set of rules domestically? 2.) Why would they-- when already making huge profits domestically-- suddenly (and collectively) quadruple their text rates at about the same time and rate over 2-3 years, then "coincidentally" all offer monthly text rates over that same time "as a cheaper option"? And almost right about the time Senator Kohl started asking his questions about this practice?

Please, if you own a cell phone, and this cheeses you off as much as it does me-- especially if you're struggling to make ends meet-- consider contacting your congressman. This is just the kind of thing they'll jump on rather quickly (and thereby likewise these wireless companies), once enough people spread the word.

And please, spread the word!