For the better part of five years Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) has allowed companies to send text messages to its subscribers without a fee, but the carrier is telling its partners that will all change Nov. 1, RCR reports. That’s when Verizon Wireless will begin charging 3 cents per message processed on its network. Scores of companies that use SMS as a backbone for their business are certainly going to be affected by the new fee. Everything from text alerts to interactive voting notifications and SMS search will be caught in the cross hairs.  According to the email notification sent out by the carrier, the fee will apply to standard and premium programs, but not to text-giving or free-to-end-user campaigns.

The potentially industry-rattling change comes while projects like Barack Obama’s text messaging campaign is getting attention as a new form of political engagement and texts are routinely being integrated into TV shows and alerts for major events like the Olympics. Moreover, the new fee will be implemented just three days before the presidential election. While plenty of SMS-based companies are scratching their heads today, wondering how to adapt their business models to survive the new hit on revenues, a larger question looms: Will the other carriers follow suit? As it is now, some carriers charge a fraction of a penny per message, but there hasn’t been a universal pricing model across the industry. The shift could very well mirror the rising costs of pay-per-use SMS, which have doubled from 10 cents to 20 cents over the past couple years.

Verizon Wireless issued a statement today, but did not provide specifics. A company spokesperson said: “Just like any business, we reassess our charges to make sure they align with our costs for providing the service and sometimes it becomes necessary to make adjustments. In this instance, this is the first increase the company has implemented since the service began in 2003. This increase does not impact the charges Verizon Wireless customers pay for text messages nor does it impact charitable campaigns.”