Verizon Wireless has informed its content and messaging partners that it will introduce a 3-cent fee for all mobile-terminated messages delivered across its network beginning Nov. 1. According to an email sent by Verizon billing partner OpenMarket and obtained by RCR Wireless, the operator will append the 3-cent charge to both standard-rate and premium programs, a move that promises to significantly impact a host of firms throughout the mobile content industry, in particular those whose businesses depend on SMS-based text-search results, news alerts, sports updates, interactive voting and related messaging services.

Verizon Wireless representative Brenda Raney said in an email to RCR that the fees are necessary to cover the carrier's costs on delivering mobile-terminated messages. "Just like any business, we reassess our charges to make sure they align with our costs for providing the service and sometimes it becomes necessary to make adjustments," Raney writes. "In this instance, this is the first increase the company has implemented since the service began in 2003." In January, Verizon increased [1] costs for sending and receiving text messages to 20 cents apiece, up from 15 cents each, a move instituted to drive subscribers over to messaging bundles.

For more on the Verizon messaging fee:
- read this RCR Wireless article [2]

Related article:
Verizon reaches messaging [3] milestone