Verizon recently announced a significant increase in A2P messaging fees-up to 42%-effective June 1. This affects all businesses and platforms that send SMS or MMS messages to Verizon customers, including those using any messaging provider.

What’s Changing?

• SMS carrier fees will rise from $0.003 to $0.004 per message segment
  → 33% increase
• MMS carrier fees will increase from $0.005 to $0.0065 per message segment
  → 30% increase

While these individual fee changes represent a 30–33% increase, some message types and routes across the industry have seen increases of up to 42%, depending on carrier-specific policies and message formats.

These carrier-imposed fees are charged per message segment sent to Verizon users and are in addition to your platform’s base rates. And this isn’t an isolated event—we’re seeing similar trends across the industry, and other carriers may soon follow.

Why It Matters

Carrier fees are a non-negotiable cost passed down by mobile carriers like Verizon. While a one-tenth-of-a-cent increase per SMS may seem small, at scale, this can significantly impact your marketing or transactional messaging budget — especially for brands sending high volumes of SMS or rich MMS content.

How This Impacts You

• Higher operational costs for SMS and MMS campaigns targeting Verizon users
• Potential ROI changes for low-margin products/services
• Greater need for strategic segmentation to ensure your messages are optimized and efficient.

What You Can Do About It

1. Audit Your SMS Usage: Understand how many messages you send to Verizon users monthly.
2. Segment More Precisely: Target only engaged users and prune cold or unsubscribed contacts.
3. Test SMS vs MMS ROI: MMS is more expensive — reserve it for high-value use cases.
4. Review Automations and Flows: Ensure each message is essential and adds value.
5. Consider Cross-Channel Strategies: Combine email, push notifications, and SMS to control costs.