July 7 2009 is the day that Rogers Wireless will begin charging for incoming text messages. We observed this change last year with Telus and Bell. What this means is if you have Rogers Wireless service, any incoming text messages that you receive will be billed at $0.15 per text message.

1.) Get a Value Pack or Text Message Bundle

The majority of you out there already have a Value Pack or Text Message bundle on your plans. These packs/bundles give you a certain amount of text messages (among other features) to use per month but have unlimited (free) incoming text messages.

So if you are a heavy user of text messaging, it is a no-brainer to get one of these packages. I will list the available ones below:

$5 Messaging Bundle

- 250 sent Text or Picture/Video Messages

- Unlimited received Text or Picture/Video Messages

- $0.15 per additional outgoing text message after 250; $0.50 per additional outgoing picture/video message after 250

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$10 Messaging Bundle

- 2,500 sent Text Messages

- Unlimited received Text Messages

- $0.15 per additional outgoing message after 2,500

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$15 Messaging Bundle

- Unlimited sent/received Text Messages

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$20 Smartphone Value Pack

- Caller Display with Name Display
- Enhanced Voicemail
- WhoCalled Service
- Unlimited sent/received Text Messages
- Unlimited sent/received Picture and Video Messages

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$35 Smartphone Data Value Pack

- Caller Display
- Enhanced Voicemail
- 500MB of Data
- WhoCalled Service
- Unlimited sent/received Text Messages
- Unlimited sent/received Picture and Video Messages

So if you opt for any of the above packages, you are in the clear and will not receive any additional charges for incoming text messages, so long as you are receiving text messages within Canada (the above packages do not include anything to do with outside of Canada messaging).

Also, if you have any of the above packages, you will not receive charges for any of the following incoming messages:

- Premium text messages
- Voicemail to Text
- Administrative / network messages – i.e. WhoCalled, Voicemail text (free anyway)
- Directory Assistance
- Promotional programs
- MobileMail Email / Instant Messaging

But what if you do not care for text messaging?

2.) Block all Incoming Text Messages

If you do not use text messaging or simply do not care for receiving text messages, then you can call Rogers and have a SOC (pronounced “sock”) Code put on your account. This code will block all incoming text messages.

Block Received Messages SOC Code: “BLKSMSMT”

However, there is a huge word of warning when doing this.

This block prevents ALL received messages from coming through, which includes the following:

- Rogers Network Messages about items such as Roaming

- Rogers administrative messages

- Voicemail Retrieval Numbers

- Message Waiting Indicators

Take note of the last two. To me, this is such unethical business practice on Rogers’ part.

What the last two items mean is if you block incoming text messages, you will not be able to retrieve your voicemail because the Voicemail retrieval number would have been blocked. This number is sent to most, not all, Rogers devices via Text Message and there is no workaround such as entering the number in yourself.

Second, you will not be able to know when you have received voicemails on your device because the Message Waiting Indicator is blocked. The Message Waiting Indicator sends a message to your device to inform you that you have a new voicemail. With the block, that sending cannot occur.

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Let me know of your thoughts and concerns in the comments below.