How are direct InReach to InReach messages billed on measured accounts? Do both parties use up a message allotment, or neither, or ..? I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere on the web site.
Thanks in advance...
How are direct InReach to InReach messages billed on measured accounts? Do both parties use up a message allotment, or neither, or ..? I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere on the web site.
Thanks in advance...
Hi Seth888,
Great question. inReach-to-inReach messages are charged at the same rate as messages sent to SMS and email recipient. However, keep in mind that since new messages received by an inReach are charged at the plan rate, the sending inReach would get charged for sending the message and the receiving inReach would get charged for receiving the message.
You may have seen the article from our Support Center that talks about message charges: Frequently Asked Questions About inReach Message Charges. I put in a request to have info about inReach-to-inReach message charges added to that article. Thank you for the question and feedback.
Thanks Andrew. The FAQ does imply that Inreach-to-Inreach messages are billed the same as 'outside' SMS/email traffic but there is a lot of misinformation to be found in various forums to the effect that Inreach-to-Inreach messages are billied in a different fashion, or not at all, and since this isn't specifically mentioned anywhere on the web site there is no way to point to the correct information. For that reason it might indeed be a good idea to add a bullet point to the FAQ to clarify.
Is this still true today? Seems like double dipping by Garmin.
Yes.
If you think about it, it makes sense. The real cost involved is in the Iridium "air time". For an iR to SMS message (for example), the message transits the Iridium network just once (iR to Garmin servers). For iR to iR messages, the message transits the Iridium network twice (sending iR to Garmin servers, Garmin servers to receiving iR).