Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for displaying text on a communications device. One method controls a display using a Subscriber Identity Module application. The Subscriber Identity Module application specifies a duration for which text is displayed on the communications device. The duration specifies a time for which the text is displayed before clearing the text or until a user clears the text. The duration is defined by any attribute in the Subscriber Identity Module application. The attribute may comprise any command or data object, however, the attribute preferably comprises a "duration" data object for a DISPLAY TEXT command in the Subscriber Identity Module application.