In recent years, the Remind company has been a provider to students and teachers of a free way for teachers to send students messages through text by using a code. These messages have been benefiting the students in that they help them keep up with some of their more difficult classes. However, as of Jan. 28, Remind was going to lose the aid of one of their carrier partnerships, Verizon Wireless.
Verizon planned to charging Remind an additional spam fee for using their carrier. Remind had expressed the fact that their messages aren’t spam, but their attempts had been unsuccessful. This new fee, which would have been implemented on Jan. 28, would have charged Remind 11 times more than their average fee. Remind had made the decision not to pay this fee, as it would cost them millions more per year. As a result, all students and teachers who use Verizon as their cellphone platform would’ve no longer be able to send or receive Remind text messages.
However, due to the backlash of from teachers and students sending reviews to Verizon about this decision, they have decided to repeal this fee. Remind will continue to provide free text messages to students and teachers with Verizon as their cellphone platform.
“Although it’s not my personal platform, I think that it’s beneficial to the students who do use Verizon as their platform to have access to that. I’m going to have a few of my classes share their opinions on the issue in a warm-up,” AP US History Teacher Colman Roach had said.
Students are still encouraged to download the Remind app on their phone, using it instead of the texts. It works exactly like receiving a text message. Additionally, students will be able to see all of their classes in one banner.
Many students and teachers had previously expressed their dismay at the change in policy, taking to social media platforms with the hashtag #ReverseTheFee. Concerns over the need for a smartphone to download the app and the inconvenience of not receiving direct SMS messages were among the top of the concerns held by teachers, parents, and students. This quick reaction to the issue was a main reason why Verizon decided to abandon their decision.
