French consumer association calls for SMS boycott over prices

French consumer association UFC-Que choisir has called for an SMS boycott on 9 May to protest the cost of the service, reports Telecom Paper (pay per view)

"At end-2003, the group had criticised 80% profit margins made on SMSs. It filed a complaint with the competition authority, which is not expected to give a ruling until early 2005. Nothing has changed since then, according to UFC-Que choisir president Alain Bazot.

The average cost of SMSs is EUR 0.13 per SMS unit,including a EUR 0.15 per SMS unit standard price and EUR 0.10 per SMS package price, according to telecoms regulator ART. The 11 billion SMSs sent in 2003 generated a EUR 1.4 billion turnover, of which EUR 1.1 billion was profit".

emily | 4:44 PM | European/ZA SMS pricing issues |
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