I suppose 37 Signals and Adobe are ripping off their customers as well because their marginal cost is close to zero and they are charging... more than zero.
Actually, I agree SMS is a ripoff, but the marginal cost isn't why. It's a ripoff because it's something people want and there is no other way for them to get it, which is an effective monopoly. With Google Voice and other competitors gaining adoption on smarter phones, I expect this to change.
This. Let's remove all of the technical arguments and just put it this way: even if the telcos were using magic to transmit messages, which is theoretically free, I would still be willing to pay them $5-$10/month for them to perform that magic, because contacting my friends through texts is worth that to me - I have no cheaper way of getting that exact service and ultimately it's worth what they are charging, to me.
The monopoly argument does resonate, however, and I agree that introducing competition is a great advance.
Do people feel that self-sustaining websites are a ripoff because the creators no longer have to put in any time or effort to earn revenue?
Actually, I agree SMS is a ripoff, but the marginal cost isn't why. It's a ripoff because it's something people want and there is no other way for them to get it, which is an effective monopoly. With Google Voice and other competitors gaining adoption on smarter phones, I expect this to change.