SMS Connection types

In this page, you are going to get more information about connection types of the Ozeki NG SMS Gateway. You can use the Ozeki NG SMS Gateway in two ways. Ozeki SMS Gateway can be used to send and receive SMS messages. The messages can be transferred to or received from the mobile network in two ways. You can setup a wireless connection (Figure 1) or an IP SMS connection (Figure 2). Both connection types have advantages and disadvantages.

What is SMS connectivity?

SMS connectivity refers to the ability to connect to a Short Message Service Centre to send and receive text messages. Wireless connections and IP SMS connections are the two methods for connecting to the SMSC.

What is Wireless connection?

Wireless connectivity is a method that uses radio signals to communicate between mobile devices, with no required wires or cables.

What is IP SMS Connection

IP SMS connection, also called SMS over the Internet or a private IP network, connects to the SMSC via TCP/IP link.

To build an SMS messaging system, you need to choose how it will communicate with the mobile service provider’s SMS centre. You have two options: SMS over the Internet or modem connection. SMS over Internet is faster and can handle more messages, but it requires an Internet connection. Modem connection does not need an Internet connection, but it is slower and has less capacity. You should consider your business and operational needs before making a decision. Now, we will provide a more in-depth explanation of the two SMS connectivity solutions.

Wireless connections

A wireless connection can be used to send/receive SMS messages if you attach a GSM Modem (or GSM phone) to your PC with a phone to PC data cable. The GSM Modem has a SIM card, that makes it possible to attach to the GSM network. The major advantage to this connection is that it is easy to setup. You can purchase a SIM card and a GSM modem simply and get the system up quickly. To operate this connection the costs are low. You can purchase a prepaid SIM which means you will not have a regular monthly fee. The drawback to this connection type is that it is relatively slow. You can transmit/receive about 10 messages per minute with this connection type. (You can increase this capacity by using more than one GSM modems.) If you want to create an SMS service that will not send/receive a very large number of messages this is an ideal option.

how wireless sms connection works
Figure 1 - Wireless SMS connection

IP SMS connections

Another option is to connect your system directly to the short message service centre of a GSM service provider over the Internet. In this case you have a significantly better bandwidth (max. 10 000 SMS/ minute), but you usually have to pay a large monthly fee, and it takes a lot of time and is hard to sign a contract with a service provider. IP SMS connections use IP SMS protocols: SMPP or CIMD2 or UCP/EMI. Ozeki SMS products have an excellent implementation of these protocols.

how ip sms connections work
Figure 2 - IP SMS connection

Recommendations

If you want to build an SMS system, we recommend you to start with a wireless GSM Modem connection and if the capacity demands increases you can switch to IP SMS.

More information