MetroPCS ends text-messaging limits

Wireless carrier MetroPCS on Tuesday added unlimited text messaging to its stable of offerings and slashed long-distance calling prices, a company representative said. MetroPCS now charges about 1.7 cents a minute for long-distance calls--a few tenths of a cent below what most carriers have to pay to connect a call. are nothing new in the cellular industry, which has seen profits steadily erode as the cost of making a phone call dives because of increased competition. The company's new offer, unlimited text messaging between subscribers, will cost $3 per month. Verizon Wireless has a similar unlimited offer.

MetroPCS, which was launched a year ago, is trying to capitalize on U.S. wireless dialers who are mystified by complicated wireless calling plans. Its answer was to offer unlimited dialing for $35 a month. The company, which has not revealed its number of subscribers, operates in and around Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco and Sacramento.