Understanding message and data rates

August 6, 2024

When you make a sale, you don’t hide the price from the customer, right?

Even if you have a product or service that requires a custom quote, you tell the person on the other end before they pull out their credit card. And that includes any extra fees.

The same rule applies to texting. Even when you have a free texting list, some fees could come into play from service providers, which you need to disclose with the phrase “message and data rates may apply.”

Let’s dig into this disclaimer, its implications, and how you can use it effectively in your SMS marketing.

⚠️ This advice is for informational purposes only and is neither intended as nor should be substituted for consultation with appropriate legal counsel and/or your organization’s regulatory compliance team.

When you see “message and data rates may apply” when signing up for a text list, that means that your carrier may charge additional rates when you receive messages through that list.

While this is true for any text message you receive, not every consumer knows this, so businesses share this message to make consumers aware.

While message rates and data rates are both charges from phone carriers, they relate to two different resources we use when texting. Let’s see how each one works at home and abroad.

Message rates are the charges associated with sending SMS text messages over the cellular network. Phone carriers manage these networks and charge you for using them through your phone plan.

While earlier phone plans tended to have individual costs per text, most of today’s plans have unlimited texting.

Data rates are the costs that come with using data on the cellular network. This data uses the same network as SMS messages, but it serves as a replacement for the Internet when it’s not available. MMS messages also use data instead of message rates because of their multimedia components.

Lower-cost phone plans include data up to a certain limit, then charge more for extra increments of data, while some higher-tier phone plans have unlimited data.

Data costs an average of USD 6.00 per gigabyte in the United States and USD 5.37 per gigabyte in Canada according to a global study from Cable.co.uk. But someone’s exact costs depend on their phone carrier and plan.

International plans that allow customers to use their phones abroad may charge higher rates for messages and data. Rates still apply when traveling in other countries, and these rates may switch to per-message or per-gigabyte when they would normally be unlimited at home.

Some carriers offer day passes for international message and data use, such as Mint Mobile’s Minternational Pass and AT&T’s International Day Pass.

The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) requires businesses to disclose the possibility of rates under its principles and best practices.

Whenever someone opts into a business’s texts, the CTIA requires multiple components in its call to action and confirmation message, including “clear and conspicuous language about opt-in and any associated fees or charges.” Message and data rates fall under those fees and charges.

Most businesses simply add the phrase “message and data rates apply” to cover this requirement. But, I’m not a lawyer, so I recommend reading the rules yourself or consulting a legal professional to make sure you’re covered.

Since the CTIA represents the telecommunications industry in the United States, including wireless carriers, not following these rules could lead to carriers blocking your texts. Compliance ensures that everyone who signs up for your texts sees them.

Even more importantly, it’s the right and trustworthy thing to do. Message and data rate disclaimers give your customers clear expectations for your texting list, building their trust in you.

The CTIA requires you to disclose extra fees and charges in two places:

• Your opt-in call to action: The material you use to invite customers to join your list, such as a poster, web form, or social media post.
• Your opt-in confirmation message: After someone opts into your text list, CTIA principles say you should send them a message confirming they signed up for texts. This message should also include a fee disclaimer.

SimpleTexting can help you automate some of this process. For example, our mobile signup widget automatically comes with disclaimers, and we automate compliance messages like opt-in confirmations.

Here are three examples of brands providing a carrier fee disclaimer in real life:

When I ordered food through a local restaurant’s native app, the restaurant coordinated delivery through DoorDash. Since this fact wasn’t evident right away, I’m glad that DoorDash included disclaimers in its text updates so I could opt out if needed.

You’ll see a quick “Msg&Data rates may apply” disclaimer included in all of the introductory info I received.

The National Cancer Institute’s SmokefreeUS initiative helps people quit smoking. One of its programs offers advice over text.

One of its Instagram posts advertising this program lets you text a keyword to get personalized help. Since social media posts count as marketing materials for text list opt-ins, SmokefreeUS added a “message and data rates may apply” disclaimer.

Vroom gives parents tips through its website, its app, and its text list to help their children learn more effectively.

This X post from Vroom highlights the third option and invites parents to sign up. It discloses potential carrier fees in both the post copy and graphic.

Your rate disclaimer is just one of many the CTIA requires businesses to share when asking customers to opt-in to their texts. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) also comes into play here, meaning you’ll need to follow both it and the CTIA principles to be fully compliant.

Under the CTIA and TCPA, you should also disclose these details:

• Your brand/campaign/program name
• The phone number you will text from
• The purpose of the messages you will send
• The fact that the customer is agreeing to receive texts when signing up
• Opt-out instructions
• Directions for contacting support about your text list
• Any conditions of purchase associated with singing up for your list
• Your full terms of service or a link to the full version
• Your full privacy policy or a link to the full version
• The frequency of the messages you will send

You can learn more about these disclaimers in our full guide. Just keep in mind that this isn’t legal advice – your best bet is to read the rules yourself or consult a lawyer.

As you can see, there are quite a few details to consider when making your SMS marketing materials compliant – and we’ve only talked about disclaimers so far. SimpleTexting helps you keep up with compliance with features like:

• Keywords for customers to provide express written consent when they agree to receive your texts
• Automatic opt-in messages where you can include disclaimers relating to carrier fees and opt-out directions
• Scheduled texts so you can always send them during compliant times
• Assistance with number registration for delivery without carrier filters, whether you use a 10DLC, toll-free, or short code number
• The option to include opt-out directions with every text so you don’t have to worry about keeping up with the right frequency

We also have an SMS compliance hub full of guides for anyone to read, even if you don’t have a SimpleTexting account.

Now that you know how to make your customers aware of any extra fees they might get when receiving your texts, it’s time to put that knowledge into action. Review your marketing materials related to opting into your text list for compliance with the CTIA and TCPA, then rework your systems to be compliant moving forward.

A texting service like SimpleTexting can make the second step easier by automating some of the process for you. See how it could fit into your compliance workflow with a 14-day free trial.

⚠️ This advice is for informational purposes only and is neither intended as nor should be substituted for consultation with appropriate legal counsel and/or your organization’s regulatory compliance team.