UCP IP SMS protocol

Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway supports the Universal Computer Protocol / External Machine Interface (UCP/EMI). This protocol is often used by GSM service providers for IP SMS connectivity. The currently used protocol versions (v3, v3.5, v4.0) can be used to transfer high volumes of SMS traffic. It is used for both premium rate and normal rate SMS messages.

One of the advantages of using UCP connections is that you can specify the sender address of the message. The sender address can be a custom phone number or a short word containing alphanumeric characters. (See the instructions about the overridable checkbox below.) Note, however, that some GSM service providers restrict the use of this option.

Another advantage of UCP is that it allows sending messages of every type the GSM network can carry. It can be used to send binary SMS messages (operator logos, ringtones), WAP Push messages, as well as other types of messages. (Check out the Appendix for links to pages about different message types.) Concatenated SMS messages and various alphabets can also be used.

How to set up an UPC connection: How to set up an UPC connection

In order to use UCP to connect to an SMSC over the Internet or other private TCP/IP network, you need to subscribe to the service of a service provider.

If you wish to use UCP to connect to your service provider, you need the following information from the service provider:

IP address of the SMSC
Port number of the SMSC
User name
Password

Some service providers require you to set up an IPSEC VPN tunnel to connect to their SMSC (Figure 1).

ucp connection with vpn
Figure 1 - UCP connection with VPN

In most cases you need a fix IP address, which you have to let the GSM service provider know so that they can give you access through their firewall. In some situations, the service provider does not want you to be able to set up more than one UCP connection from your computer to their service. If this is the case, they might ask you to use a specific source port for the connection.

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