The fact is, this kind of calculation shows how absurd the mobile market is in the USA. So much for claiming that it's a "free market" and it is "competitive".
Sure, you have the "free markets" types that say eventuall something will rise and sidestep SMS, but that's now going to happen. In this case free markets, with no proper regulation, just create an enviroment where the carriers can collude, and milk every cent from you.
I'm reminded of the "danger, low sign" sign.
My defense is this: as the cost of technology is constant going down, we the customers are not seeing any corresponding drop in costs. And that with the introduction of new operator (called 3 Mobile). In my mind, such a competitive market would transfer these savings to customers.
Examples: A 200-minute (ish) any time any network plus some included texts price plan has stayed at around £25 for the past 6 years. More recently, they started experimenting with 18-month plans. These tend to give much better call and texting costs but when you factor in the "free" phone, they sometimes end up costing more than a comparable 12-month plan.
Consumers benefit from this if it means they get access to new technology at a lower price than they would if margins were held constant.