One Small Step For SMS
from the send-but-not-receive dept
In a clever move, AT&T Wireless announced that their subscribers can now send SMS messages to virtually any US carrier. Previously subscribers could only SMS other AT&T subs. If they wanted to message a users on another network, they would need the target phone's email address. Now all they need is the phone number. But, on the back end, the message is actually sent via email, not SMS. So replying to messages from AT&T users may not be as seamless for the recepients. But, I sill give AT&T credit. They have made sending SMS text messages easier for their customers and differentiated themselves from the competition. Who cares if the message recepients can reply or not? AT&T charges per message sent out. It's free to receive messages.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team