SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknifer Mark Karau, an avid fan of text messaging, is one of many consumers across the country upset that text messaging is about to get a lot more costly.

Bell Mobility recently announced that as of Aug. 8 the company will begin charging for receiving text messages at a price of 15 cents per message.

Mark Karau holds up his Blackberry, which he uses to send text messages to friends and family. Starting next month Bell Mobility will be charging some customers to receive text messages. - Cara Loverock/NNSL photo

"It's crazy," said Karau of the new charge.

Karau said he communicates through text messages "all day, every day. I send like 8,000 a month." The new charge will not affect Karau directly, since he has an unlimited text message package, but it will affect some of the people he sends messages to on a daily basis.

"It's going to cost (my friends) just to get a text," he said.

The texting fees are also being implemented by TELUS, but that company does not serve Yellowknife nor the NWT.

Bell Mobility spokesperson Jason Laszlo sent Yellowknifer a statement by e-mail regarding the new charges for text messaging.

He said 95 per cent of Bell clients are already on a text plan and the other five per cent who have pay-per-use texting will be charged for inbound messages starting next month.

Laszlo wrote the concern that consumers will receive and be charged for spam or junk messages is unlikely. According to Laszlo, "it is highly unlikely they would ever receive any (spam), thanks to the strict network safeguards we and all wireless carriers have put in place. But if they do somehow receive an unsolicited message, they should call our client care team to adjust their charges."

He also stated all major wireless carriers in the United States already charge for incoming text messages and many at a rate of 20 cents per message.

Jim Prentice, federal minister of industry, recently issued a statement to the media regarding his concern and disapproval of the new charges for text messaging.

"I believe this was a poorly thought-out decision," said Prentice in a statement posted on the Industry Canada website.

Prentice said he has sent letters to the chief executive officers of Bell Mobility and TELUS.