Bell To Increase Pay-Per-Use Text Message Rates To $0.20

This week Bell has posted on their website that the carrier plans to increase domestic pay-per-use (sent and received) text message rates from $0.15 to $0.20/message. Bell has also detailed other various message rate increases. The changes are effective August 1, 2011.

• Sent and received text messages (including messages sent to the U.S.) will be changed from $0.15/message to the rate of $0.20/message.
• Text messages sent from Canada to international destinations will be changed from $0.25/message to the rate of $0.35/message.
• Messages sent from your mobile device to an application (Facebook, Twitter, MSN (instant messaging and email), Webmail, etc.) will be changed from $0.15/message to the rate of $0.20/message.
• Messages sent to your mobile device from an application (Facebook, Twitter, MSN (instant messaging and email), Webmail, Movie Quiz, Zemgo, etc.) will be charged at the rate of $0.20/message.

Like with the other major Canadian carriers, if you have a bundle or text messaging plan as part of your monthly package, you will be unaffected by using domestic text messaging. However if you exceed your monthly allotment, or use other than domestic text messaging, you pay the new fees.

Also note that subscribers in the province of Québec will not be impacted by these changes. If you are a Québec customer under an Ontario account, you will receive an e-bill message about the changes but you will not be impacted.