Sending text messages to other countries...
 

I was just wondering.. does anyone know how to send text messages to people in other countries? My friend who lives in Korea has a Korean phone (with a Korean service provider). She can send me text messages by adding +00700 infront of my number, but I can't seem to do it. I've also tried +(Country Code)(Number) and it doesn't work.

Hmmm I text friends in the states all the time..... I just enter their number as normal and the text gets sent. Maybe the only difference is that I would have to add a 954 or a 786 area code in front of their 7 digit number. AL so I am in the Caribbean. And see as you tried both ways, I will guess that it has something to do with the service providers.

Some providers have international SMS (and/or calling) disabled by default. This is likely the case for you. There is a reason they do this: The rates are very high!

I look forward to the day when all phone mail is email based, as in Japan. The iPhone is making inroads toward that.

I've done a few SMS blobs to Japan and received some from there. Its all part of the malignant idiocy of the telecoms in the US --- they never got a grip on the idea that it is ALL just data: voice, text, video, all of it. Its simply insane to charge 10 or 15 cents a message, or even the amount they charge for "flat rate", those prices have literally nothing to do with the actual cost of the message.

I've done a few realtime programming projects (SS7, etc) for telecoms and it was always hilarious/tragic to watch internet-based people try to work with telecom-heritage people. Fascinating paradigm issues...

Hehe well... interesting... anyways...

I guess as a T-mobile user, I have to first ask them to enable it?

It looks like T-Mobile doesn't require you to enable international calling, just international roaming. What you listed as dialing should have worked according to their website. If it's not working, I'm guessing that it's something to do with the SMS gateways used by your friend's service provider. Whether it's their provider or T-Mobile that's the problem, a call to T-Mobile couldn't hurt.

But if you check the link to the international rates on their text messaging page, you'll see that it's ridiculously expensive: 35 cents to send a message to South Korea, and 15 to receive one!

I recommend that you instead use your phones' email addresses to communicate. Your T-Mobile address is your 10 digit number @tmomail.net (ie, 5554441313@tmomail.net). Your friend likely has a similar address for you to send to. Most phones will let you store an email address in your contact list and send an email exactly as you would an SMS message. Your charges should be just the same as they would be for a regular text message. This is the solution I use.

Interestingly (or not), there's a somewhat informative thread over at SlashDot on the topic of SMS technology, true cost, and market ripoff.

http://science.slashdot.org/article..../05/12/1419204

Of course, be ready to wade through the usual chaff, BS, and agenda biases :)

With Verizon i msg Taiwan and HK for $0.25 per message sent/receive. To do so you must have your account enable for international rates. I rather chat on yahoo. AIM, or MSN for free thou. those little quarters starts to add up big if text alot.

Well, depend on your service provider... In my country all i need to do is send it to +(country code)(area code)(phone number). Like +62899972XXXX... Price is about $0.05~$0.1 / messages...

Don't do it. It's hella expensive, even with a service plan.