Did you sign up for a text plan because the a la carte price per text message is ridiculously expensive? Or are you simply on a text plan because it just makes sense to be on one because you already send enough text messages per month to rival any teenager? Well, Congress is probing into the issue of texting costs to assess if wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless have colluded in price fixing the cost of SMS messages to consumers. Text message costs doubled from 10 cents per message to 20 cents per message in the two years from 2006 to 2008, and the Senate wants to know why. AT&T and Verizon both argue that the price increase is immaterial as it only affects 1% of customers as most subscribers are already on a texting plan of some sort–the basic texting plan on AT&T costs $5 per month for 200 messages.

While the cost of data for most phones have dropped over the years, the cost of SMS and MMS messages have increased. So, we have to wonder, if you are on a texting plan because of the increased costs just to make sure you don’t go over budget despite having limited to moderate texting use or are you on a texting plan because you are already a heavy texter?

(via: Yahoo! Tech)