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SMS Technology

This page provides a brief explanation for you on the basics of the SMS technology along with a fact sheet, as well as links to pages detailing the technology.

The SMS technology was created by GSM pioneers in Europe. The standardization process is led by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The SMS technology was created to provide an infrastructure for the transportation of short messages containing a maximum of 140 bytes (8 bit objects) of useful data in mobile telecommunication networks. The transportation is done in the GSM signaling path in traditional GSM networks, and as GPRS packets in GPRS networks. Messages are composed using the PDU specification. An SMS is a binary string containing all the necessary information to form the message header needed for transportation and the message body containing the payload. The basic addressing scheme of SMS messages are mobile telephone numbers called MSISDN.

Standard:	GSM (ETS 03.40)
Transport technology:	GSM Signaling Path, GPRS
Transport protocol:	Short Message Protocol
Addressing scheme:	MSISDN
Message description language:	SMS PDU
User data length:	140 byte (Concatenated messages can exceed this size)
Basic character set:	7-bit SMS, 8-bit SMS, UCS2

On the Basic Concepts page you can read about the roles of the different SMS messaging entities, illustrated with figures depicting SMS messaging using GSM and IP connection.

On the IP SMS technology page you can read about the convenience of connecting to the Short Message Service Center over the Internet, and you are provided with links to pages detailing the most common IP SMS protocols.

On the GSM SMS Technology page you can read about SMS messaging using a GSM device (modem or phone), and you can find links to pages detailing the different ways of connecting the GSM device to the computer.

On Connection page you can learn the two connection possibilities that allow to connect to the mobile network. The detailed system architecture diagrams also demonstrate the solutions.

On USSD basics page you will find the basic information on USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Services Data) to be familiar with this service. A link to USSD message types is also available in the article.

On GSM modem vs IP SMS page you will be provided with detailed information on the differences between GSM modem connectivity ans IP SMS connectivity to help you make a selection from them.

More information

• Product Manual
• Installation guide
• User Guide
• Developers guide
• Examples and solutions
• Appendix
• FAQ
• SMS Gateway feature list for system developers and operators

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