Cheaper texts inevitable

Vodafone's 6 cent per text offer is a genuine bargain, given that the cost can be as ridiculously high as 13 cent a go. You'd think by the amount of noise Voda is making that this is the new, permanent benchmark but no, the small print points out the deal lasts only until March 31.

The messages must be bought in blocks of 100, with only one block permitted per month. After you've used up the 100, the cost reverts to 8c a text. At least they carry over from month to month if you don't use them all.

This inexorable downward price trend can only continue, given that the networks could charge one cent per message and still they'd make a profit in light of how little it costs them.

In Denmark, for instance, texts cost as little as two cent, thanks in part to the serious amount of competition in that country. We can only hope for the same result now that Mobile Virtual Network Operators are about to make a comeback here.