[kragen]

Here in Argentina, I pay about US$10 for about 180 text messages per month. I say "about" because I'm on a prepaid plan; additional messages are about US$0.04 each.

Until recently, I could pay about US$4 plus the US$0.04, but they switched the SMS credit to expire after a month instead of after six months, so I have to buy a new SMS card every month.

(This also includes a limited amount of voice calling.)

It seems to me that a competitive market in a country like the US, where very few people have text-only plans, ought to make this service considerably cheaper than in Argentina. The marginal cost of delivering a text message is something like a thousand times lower.

[joelhaus]

> in a competitive market in a country like the US

With At&t and Verizon controlling 80% of the U.S. mobile market, I'm not so sure it's competitive. Is there only a single provider in Argentina or is it structured differently?

Buenos Aires is definitely one of the most affordable cities I've been to (c. 2003), but I do recall being astonished at the prices for electronics.

[kragen]

Buenos Aires has four major providers: Claro, Personal, Movistar, and Nextel.

I think the economics here might be a little different (aside from possible collusion between the operators) because such a large fraction of the population uses only SMS. If the providers have to put up new cell towers to provide SMS to an area, the economics are a little different.

Argentina in 2003 had just collapsed. Things cost three times as much here now, or more. On the plus side, that means the taxi drivers can afford electronics and other imports.

[hollerith]

>a large fraction of the population uses only SMS

Interesting. These people who use only SMS, do they never use their phones to make voice calls -- or do you mean only SMS and voice?

[kragen]

They never (or almost never) use their phones to make voice calls. I hardly make voice calls myself.