# SMS (Text Messaging) in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995 "2013-03-15T09:46:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dam0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@dam0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dam0)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/1 "2013-03-15T09:46:42Z")
I’m from the UK, I work for a company that develops software solutions in all kinds of industries and countries. We have a requirement to develop a solution for a company based in the US which must utilises mobile text messaging, whereby we will send out appointment confirmations from our system to the mobile phone of the person who made the booking. While speaking to one of our partners, they advise that unlike the UK (and EU) where all the mobile providers agree to handle SMS traffic between each other (for a nominal fee), the mobile providers in the US do not do this and there is no guarantee that a message sent from one mobile provider will reach the recipient on another mobile network. This seems very odd to me, is this true? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/2 "2013-03-15T10:13:37Z")
Seems odd to me, too. I’ve owned phones with Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T, and have sent and received SMS texts to/from other service providers over the last 20 years or so. I don’t remember when SMS was first deployed. I am not a texting or service expert. Just speaking from limited experience. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/3 "2013-03-15T11:54:54Z")
Don’t American users have to pay for incoming texts, or something stupid like that? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/4 "2013-03-15T12:01:24Z")
SMS is SMS; there are no restrictions based on carrier in the US. However, **Alessan** is partially right. Text messaging is often paid for by message, and a lot of plans are limited to a certain # of messages for free, after that, you pay a crazy rate per message. I think it’s message received or sent, but that could vary by carrier. There _are_ unlimited messaging plans, but not everyone has those. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/5 "2013-03-15T12:10:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Don’t American users have to pay for incoming texts, or something stupid like that? Yeah, that’s the big thing. Some people in the US have their carrier block texts altogether or just ignore them (even though you still get charged). Also, I don’t know how this compares to Europe or if it has anything to do with the multiple carriers issue, but SMS isn’t terribly reliable in the US. Especially in rural areas that might have spotty coverage. You get a lot of texts that get delivered hours late or just disappear entirely. For that reason, and for the incoming text charges, SMS probably isn’t the best way to handle automated notification in this country, but I’m assuming that’s your client’s problem. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/6 "2013-03-15T12:23:39Z")
I use Verizon. Texts from certain carriers (AT&T?) seem to always arrive in triplicate, or after significant delay. I’ve heard the same complaint from other Verizon customers. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/7 "2013-03-15T12:35:10Z")
Plus some states have legal restrictions this type of text messaging, sending it w/o specific permission from the person getting the text can result in some heavy fines. This is to prevent spamming. In these states texting is an opt in process. A test message is sent, if the customer texts back yes then you can legally send them texts. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/8 "2013-03-15T15:09:49Z")
Canada is similar telephonically. Originally, the cellphone networks were on dissimilar standards, not all od which supported SMS. About ten years ago there was a lot of crowing when someone implemented an SMS gateway that allowed interstandard SMSing between the different networks. These days, most Canadian networks are converging towards 4G LTE (in the GSM family), and only a few of the smaller discount carriers use CDMA as their primary standard. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/9 "2013-03-15T15:21:15Z")
SMS messaging is a standard, so there should be no problem with sending texts between carriers, but because not everyone has unlimited texting, you should offer the customers the option of receiving the notification by text or by email. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/10 "2013-03-15T15:31:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Don’t American users have to pay for incoming texts, or something stupid like that? On the other hand, we also don’t pay twelve dollars (or “euros” or “pounds” as they’re known in European) for a gallon (or “litre,” again, same deal) for gas (“petrol”). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/11 "2013-03-15T15:55:32Z")
Neither do we and, unlike those units, SMS are the same thing everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/12 "2013-03-15T16:08:41Z")
I know from personal experience that I can send SMSs to our embedded devices from AT&T and have them get there, while not having any lucking sending them from my free Pinger account. So, not all carriers play nice with each other… ---
**Author:** ![dam0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@dam0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dam0)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/13 "2013-03-15T17:40:02Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > On the other hand, we also don’t pay twelve dollars (or “euros” or “pounds” as they’re known in European) for a gallon (or “litre,” again, same deal) for gas (“petrol”). Currently £1.44 (ish) per litre of diesel. £1.34 (ish) per litre of petrol. Thanks all for your replies. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/14 "2013-03-15T19:01:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > SMS messaging is a standard, so there should be no problem with sending texts between carriers, but because not everyone has unlimited texting, you should offer the customers the option of receiving the notification by text or by email. This what I was going to post. However…most people with smartphones will be on an unlimited text plan because they’re paying $75+ per month. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/15 "2013-03-15T19:29:56Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > On the other hand, we also don’t pay twelve dollars (or “euros” or “pounds” as they’re known in European) for a gallon (or “litre,” again, same deal) for gas (“petrol”). Fortunately, my cell phone works on electricity. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/16 "2013-03-16T03:51:22Z")
In the US, to email an SMS to a mobile user, you have to know what network or provider they use and send it through a proprietary courtesy gateway. It occurs to me that this might be different elsewhere in the world, and might possibly play a part in the OP’s system. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/17 "2013-03-16T13:55:06Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > This what I was going to post. > > However…most people with smartphones will be on an unlimited text plan because they’re paying $75+ per month. But unlimited texts still cost extra don’t they? Last time I checked it was like $20 a month so I’ve always stuck with the cheapest text plan for my smartphones. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/18 "2013-03-16T14:14:07Z")
Depends on the carrier. The latest Verizon family smartphone plans, for example, give unlimited minutes and unlimited texts and you get charged fees for each device, and for insanely small buckets of data in 1gb increments. No options for less than unlimited minutes or less than unlimited text unless you are grandfathered/still in an old plan, which a lot of people probably are. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/19 "2013-03-16T14:28:52Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > In the US, to email an SMS to a mobile user, you have to know what network or provider they use and send it through a proprietary courtesy gateway. > > It occurs to me that this might be different elsewhere in the world, and might possibly play a part in the OP’s system. No. You just send the text to a phone number, that’s it. You don’t need to know what carrier they are on. The only time you need to know their carrier is if you want to email a text message to them. Like [2025551212@vtext.net](mailto:2025551212@vtext.net) to a Verizon customer. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995/20 "2013-03-16T18:01:03Z")
Yeah, “email a text message to them” is sort of what I meant by “email an SMS to a mobile user.” In fact, it’s exactly what I meant. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sms-text-messaging-in-america/652995.md?page=2)