OTTAWA -- Bell Mobility's plan to charge some cellphone customers for incoming text messages takes effect Friday, despite the consumer backlash, a lawsuit, and an intervention by the federal industry minister.

Customers whose cellphone bundles don't include text messaging will be charged 15 cents every time they receive a text message, and Telus users will face the same fate Aug. 24.

The companies already charged 15 cents for outgoing messages sent by users not on a text plan, and they say the added charge for incoming messages will affect a minority of customers.

"About 95 per cent of text messages on Bell's network are sent and received by clients on text bundles. Anyone who plans to send and receive a significant number of text messages really should be on a plan," said Bell's associate director of media relations, Jason Laszlo.

The company has adjusted its text bundles and, starting at an extra $5 a month, subscribers can get unlimited incoming texts and 250 outgoing ones. For $15 per month, customers receive unlimited outgoing and incoming messages.

Laszlo said Bell customers have been most concerned about paying to receive unsolicited spam messages, but he said the company has top-notch anti-spam protection on its networks. If spam somehow slips through, the charges will be adjusted.

Since news of the fee started spreading in May, however, customers and critics have vented their frustrations on blogs, signed an online petition initiated by the New Democratic Party, and joined a Facebook group --which has more than 35,000 members --and two Quebec residents have each launched a lawsuit against the telecom giants.

The uproar caught the ear of the federal industry minister, Jim Prentice, who in early July described the new fee as an "ill-thought-out decision."

Prentice said he had no desire to interfere with the day-to-day business decisions of two private companies, but he said he had a duty to protect consumers. He asked the CEOs of Bell Mobility and Telus to meet with him before Friday to explain their pricing "with a view to finding a solution that provides the best service to consumers at the best price."

Prentice's efforts, even if they were genuine, failed to produce such a solution, said NDP Leader Jack Layton.

"It was weak and completely ineffectual," Layton said. "Clearly, Mr. Prentice is not on the side of the ordinary Canadian who is wondering why these companies are being allowed to get away with gouging."

Layton said the minister did some "huffing and puffing" but, ultimately, the Conservative government is failing to defend Canadian consumers.

One of Canada's other major cellphone providers, Rogers, has no plans to charge for incoming text messages.

© The Vancouver Province 2008