It is a rarity for a college student to not own a cell phone.

Either you use one or you see students with phones attached to their ears. Having a cell phone these days is a necessity and text messaging ranks a close second as an essential.

Don’t lie; you’ve texted people when you are bored in class. You’ve probably even attempted texting while driving – for shame. But instead of hearing “ring, ring” at the end of the month, you might hear “cha-ching.”

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), recently sent letters to the top cell phone companies in the U.S. demanding an explanation for the hike in text message prices from 10 cents to 20 cents since 2005. Recently, a group of Illinois residents filed a lawsuit against Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile for price gouging, according to a Sept. 14 Chicago Sun-Times article.

“[The Illinois group’s] claim seems to be that the cell phone companies somehow conspired together to raise rates – in other words, price fixing,” said David Gaebler, associate professor of law. “If the companies actually did this, it would violate federal antitrust law.”

How can a text message, which seems somewhat similar to an e-mail, double in price over the last two and a half years? The only imaginable explanation is the number of cell towers used.

Verizon Wireless rests its entire advertising campaign on how broad its coverage is. Instead of raising overall prices, which could make Verizon appear more expensive than competitors, the corporation now seems to be hiding the extra charges. Customers pay the price either way and now want answers.

“Based on [the provided information], it is impossible to evaluate whether these plaintiffs have a strong case or not,” Gaebler said. “That all depends on whether they can show that the cell phone companies actually did this, and that, of course, will depend on what evidence they have.”

But if the cell phone companies are innocent, cell phone users will have to tighten their texting belts. If you cannot afford 20-cent text messages, there are two options: pay a flat fee and sign up for the unlimited plan, or tell your friends to stop sending you text messages.

Those options are easier than fathoming a $75 charge for text messages. The rule of supply and demand still holds true. Cell phone companies may scare away too many customers with higher rates, and competitive lower rates are bound to “ring, ring” you up.