First it was roaming, now "Europe to look at cost of sending text messages". I'd say the market for text messages must by any reasonable measure be healthy.

(source)

Of course there are cheaper ways of moving information around but that's not the issue. Rather, this is a business model issue. As The Times reports,

Analysts say that text messsaging accounts for about 15-20 per cent of total UK mobile service revenues — at about £18 billion. James Barford, an analyst at Enders Analysis, said: “A dramatic drop in SMS pricing would be harmful to the operators.”

The importance of text- messaging is underscored by the situation in Japan, where an equivalent of text-messaging that is far cheaper than in the UK is thought to have contributed to a stagnation in voice volumes.

Some companies offer unlimited texting as part of a bundle, some offer pay-as-you-go. My daughter has the option to buy unlimited texts for just one day, or to get text benefits as part of some promotion or other. That's what a market looks like when it's operating. This isn't a competition issue, it's a business model issue.

Some in the European Commission are either confused about the difference or believe that their role is to legislate between business models - a dangerous misconception.

[Update 26/6/06]

• 3.3 billion text messages were sent in May in the UK, a new record.
• the previous UK record was 3.2 billion texts sent in March
• person-to-person texts sent across all mobile phone networks averaged 106 million per day last month - 26% y/y growth

source: BBC

[update 30/06/06] The Times - Mobile operators attack plan to regulate texting