Here’s an update from Wireless Week about Verizon’s proposed 3-cent charge to mobile content providers:

“Verizon Wireless said today that contrary to reports last week, it has not decided to increase per-message text fees for content aggregators from 1 cent per message to 3 cents.

“The prospect of an increase is just one proposal and Verizon could not act unilaterally to implement it, a company spokesman explained this morning.

“Initial reports last week cited a letter from Verizon to aggregators in which the wireless operator said the increase is effective Nov. 1.

“That was a misstatement, the nation’s second-largest wireless operator said today.”

I just read that Verizon will begin charging content providers $0.03 for every message they send to Verizon subscribers.

According to the article on RCR Wireless, the carrier said that “the new fee was necessary to cover the carrier’s overhead in delivering MT messages.”

The fee will apply to standard and premium programs but not to free-to-end-user, mobile giving, or non-profit organizational programs.

That’s all, folks. For more information, check out the article.

For each Ask The Expert column, we consult a different industry expert, depending on the nature of the question. Today’s expert is Dale Gonzalez, Air2Web’s CTO. Have a question for the Expert or want to submit someone to be the Expert? Submit it here.

Q: What is a double opt-in? When is it necessary to use? As a content provider, what do I have to do to create it?

A: Great question. I’ll answer it in parts. What is a double opt-in? A double opt-in is a process that ensures that a user wants to participate in your mobile campaign. Usually this is done through text messaging, but it could also be initiated through other channels. Here’s the basic idea… (more…)