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ConstantineM
join:2011-09-02
San Jose, CA

ConstantineM to nitzan

Member

to nitzan

Re: [General] Google voice going paid?

said by nitzan:

Last I checked, GV doesn't actually offer VOIP service - so by default ALL providers offer better service than them. The only reason they are successful (defined by number of users) is that the service is free - if and when they start charging for service the grand majority of users will move on to real VOIP providers.

Did you not read what I said?

DO YOU OFFER SMS?

Why would I move to you if you don't offer SMS? Which is exactly what I use Google Voice for. End of story. You guys live in your magic NA VoIP world where noone needs SMS.
nitzan
Premium Member
join:2008-02-27

nitzan

Premium Member

said by ConstantineM:

End You guys live in your magic NA VoIP world where noone needs SMS.

I'd love to offer SMS, but it takes a lot more than wishful thinking. SMS-enabled carriers are very few (I can only think of one) and then they don't even offer it themselves - you have to go through another company to actually offer the SMS capability. Last I checked it costs a few thousands to setup and at least $1/mo extra per DID on top of what we already pay per DID, not to mention the carrier(s) who supports it is more expensive and more of a pain in the ass to deal with than alternatives. It's easy for you to say "you should offer it!" but are consumers really willing to pay $2-3 extra a month just to have SMS? you- maybe, but everybody? that's a risk I'm not willing to take at this point - especially not when there are "free" alternatives like Google Voice. Why would someone port their number over to us and pay us $7-8/mo for an SMS-enabled DID when they could do it for free?

You talk like we (providers) have this secret handshake where we'd agreed on depriving users of SMS. That's not the case- I've been wanting to offer it for years. When I checked multiple times it just wasn't economical. I hope it will get cheaper in the future, but that's not up to providers - it's up to the one company who offers SMS to VOIP providers.