Cellphone Gripes

DOUBLE BILLING In Europe, you’re billed only when you place a cellphone call — not when you answer one. And you’re billed only when you send a text message — not when you get one. In this country, that’s how it’s always been for landlines, too.

Somehow, though, we’ve let the cellphone industry get into the habit of billing both of us. When I call you, a chat that eats up 10 minutes of my airtime allowance also eats up 10 minutes of yours. A text message that costs me 20 cents also costs you 20 cents.

Hello, Senator?

via State of the Art - Cellphone Gripes Worthy of Congress’s Time - NYTimes.com.

This and text message fees are two of my pet peeves. (However, years ago I thought the reasoning for this was that the setting up of the line to the receiving cellphone required more resources than a comparable landline.  That being said, Europe has made receiving calls free for some time, though I think outgoing calls are more expensive.)

See Verizon’s response to this article.