Message parts and encoding
You are billed per part, not per message. One character can double the number of parts, and the rupee sign is the usual culprit. This page explains exactly when that happens.
Two alphabets
SMS predates emoji, and its original alphabet, GSM-7, holds about 128 characters: the English letters, digits, common punctuation and a handful of European accented letters. A message written entirely in GSM-7 fits 160 characters in one part.
Anything outside that alphabet forces the whole message into UCS-2, which can represent any character but costs more than twice as much room. A UCS-2 message fits 70 characters in one part.
One character changes the whole message
The alphabet is chosen for the message as a whole, not per character. A single Devanagari letter, emoji or rupee sign anywhere in an otherwise English message moves all of it to UCS-2 and cuts capacity from 160 to 70.
The characters that catch people out
Longer messages split, and each part costs
A message that does not fit in one part is split and reassembled on the handset. The recipient sees one message; you are charged for each part.
Splitting costs a little room in every part, because each one carries a header saying how to reassemble it. So the second part does not start at 161.
What this means for your bill
The compose screen shows a live part count and tells you which alphabet your message is in, so you can see the cost before you send.
The count on your invoice comes from the network
Our count is an accurate prediction, and it is what you are quoted. The number you are actually charged is the part count the network reports once the message has moved, because that is the authoritative figure. In normal use the two agree. If they ever disagree persistently, tell us, because it means our prediction is wrong and so is every quote it produced.
Practical advice
- Write prices as
Rs 500, not₹500, unless the rupee sign matters to you more than halving your capacity does. - Type your message rather than pasting it, or paste through a plain-text editor first, so smart quotes do not sneak in.
- Watch the counter when you add a variable. A template that fits in one part with a short name may not with a long one, and the variable's content is not known until you send.
- For Indian-language messages, plan around 70 characters. It is not a penalty, it is the format, and trying to squeeze under it usually reads worse than accepting two parts.