T-Mobile announced today that it's making a change regarding its policy on premium text message billing. The magenta operator has decided to put an end to all premium SMS billing, except for when it involves charitable and political giving, in an effort to protect its customers from racking up unwanted charges. T-Mo goes on to say that it's already ceased doing business with one company that it says is "one of the largest enablers of premium SMS services."

It's worth noting that T-Mobile's decision to end premium SMS billing will not have an effect on any campaigns that involve standard SMS messages, nor does it involve carrier billing for things like Google Play. While premium SMS billing services can occasionally be useful, such as in the examples that T-Mobile gave with charitable and political giving, many of them exist solely to scam consumers out of a few bucks. That's why it's good to see T-Mobile working to put an end to these unwanted charges except in legitimate circumstances. A full FAQ regarding T-Mobile's decision can be found at the link below.

UPDATE: AllThingsD notes that the other three major carriers have announced that they, too, will stop billing most premium SMS services. Like T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T will continue to allow text messages sent to charities, and Verizon will also let customers text donations to political campaigns.

Via T-Mobile, AllThingsD