Sending a Message, Again and Again

The number of text messages transmitted in the United States grew by more than 80 percent over the 12 months ended in June, according to a report just released by CTIA, the lobbying arm of the wireless industry. No single factor perfectly explains the steep growth in texting. It has little to do with technology, since the number of phones capable of texting grew only 7.3 percent from June to June. But "bucket plans," whose users buy a deep, cheap "bucket" of text messages rather than paying a per-message fee, have certainly encouraged texting.