Answers to my question re Whatsapp and SMS penetration overseas (USA and Europe)

[The_Unbeliever]

So I got a couple of answers in.

My original question was the use of Whatsapp and SMS in the USA/Europe as per this thread : http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/777464-Will-SA-mobile-networks-block-WhatsApp

The resulting answers (note that this is tech-savvy folks) :

1. USA

My cell phone plan includes unlimited SMS messages. I used to have a limited plan since I don't send many texts, but that isn't even an option any more. Unlimited texting is included in all of the cell phone plans by my provider. I just checked.

2. USA

I mostly use Google Hangouts. SMS for people who aren't savvy to Hangouts or I don't know if they have it. Never gone anywhere near Whatsapp, hate the idea of FB Messenger, can't use iMessage as I don't have an iPhone. Whatsapp hasn't really caught on in the US, AFAIK. I also fall back to SMS when data coverage is weak or non-existent.

Until about 3-4 years ago, most USians were on mobile plans where they had to pay extra for more than 500 (I think) SMS messages per month - you could go 500, 2000 or unlimited, IIRC. If you went over your cap, you got charged a ridiculous per-message fee (either 10 or 25 cents per message, sent or received).

My understanding is that in Europe, you only pay (or paid) for SMS that you sent because as a receiver, you had no way to control how much you were sent so the sensible thing is to not charge people for things they can't control.

Will update as answers come in.

 

[RJMadCat]

Well I use watsapp, but only because it is nice to create groups. It is also nice because not everyone ( aka south african friends and family) have free sms's world wide.

I get 1000 free sms's on my phone account world wide. This is from Sweden.