Canadian minister slams new texting fees

OTTAWA, July 10 (UPI) -- Canada's industry minister wants explanations from two major telecommunications companies about plans to charge fees on incoming text messages.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice was responding to public outrage over plans by Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility to start charging 15 cents per incoming message next month, which currently is free. Users now only pay to send messages with phones and handheld devices.

"While I have no desire to interfere with the day-to-day business decisions of two private companies, I do have a duty as minister of industry, when necessary, to protect the interests of the consuming public," Prentice said in a statement. "I believe this was an ill-thought-out decision,"

The consumer backlash is primarily over spam, or unwanted messages, over which users have no control, the Canwest News Service said.

The country's other major carrier, Rogers, has said it no plans to bill for incoming text messages, the news agency said.