Is Paying to Message Strangers a New Texting Business? [telecom]

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Is Paying to Message Strangers a New Texting Business?

By BRIAN X. CHEN DECEMBER 24, 2012

Cellphone carriers are making less money from text messages thanks to free messaging services offered by Facebook, Apple and other tech companies. But now Facebook is running a test to see if it can make some money by charging people to send messages to strangers.

Facebook said it started the experiment with a small percentage of users last week. For $1, a message sent to a stranger will show up in the recipient's in-box. Typically, when you send a message to people who aren't connected to you on Facebook, it shows up in a box labeled "Other," which is often ignored.

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