Cellphone Ringtone Companies txtMsg Billing?
 

Question, if anyone knows, how do cellphone ringtone companies bill your cellphone monthly when you send a textmessage to them (like on anyone of those tv based ones), how would you go about setting up that style of billing for a ringtone site, I just don't understand how sending a textmessage acts as authorization for a monthly charge to your cellphone bill...

Tell me if I'm wrong, I'm curious on how this works, anyone that knows anything, thanks....

It's quite simple...

you send a SMS to a shortcode (Text BLA to 12345) then you usually get one or more messages back with info about the product and a WAP-push to the content you've ordered (ringtone, wallpaper, whatever) - these can be free messages (Free Ringtone) or already ones that cost you.

With this process you've entered a subscription service that allows the provider to send you daily/weekly/monthly messages to your phone that cost YOU money. This is allowed until you cancel your subscription by texting STOP (or similiar) to a shortcode.

See it as recurring billing, with the difference it can be daily, weekly, monthly, whatever the provider chooses.

Hope that was explained OK... if not feel free to ask in detail.

Thanx,
Steve

Your own 5 Digit number is big money. The more cell providers that participate in your 5 digit the more money it costs you.

I hope that better answers your question.

Heard about shared shortcodes? :winkwink:

Also, why would it cost him more, the more subscribers he has?

It costs to send the SMS out, yes. But you CHARGE your subscribers for those messages - so usually you make money :warning

I know NATS supports cellphone billing via txtnation. I've been looking to do a mainstream project and they have some good products