SMS History
SMS was an accidental success that took nearly everyone in the mobile industry by surprise. SMS was the triumph of the consumer- every generation needs a technology that it can adopt as its own to communicate with- and the text generation took up SMS.
SMS is one of the few services in consumer history that has grown very fast without corresponding decreases in pricing. Usually- even in the case of voice mobile phones- price reductions in the cost of the phones and phone service have led to increases in usage. Whilst these factors have helped to bring younger people into the mobile market, the price of SMS itself stayed steady because the networks were having trouble handling the volumes of messages being sent and dared not reduce prices.
A whole new alphabet emerged because SMS messages took a long time to enter and were quite abrupt as people attempted to say as much as possible with as few keystrokes. Abbreviations such as “C U L8er” for “See you later” sprung up for timesaving and coolness. The next great success for SMS based services was ringtones .
What is SMS?
Short Messaging Service, otherwise known as text messaging, mobile messaging, or alphanumeric paging is a digital cellular network feature. It lets you send short text and numeric messages to and from digital cell phones, cell phones and e-mail addresses, as well as cell phones and public SMS messaging gateways on the Internet.
SMS was created as part of the GSM Phase 1 standard. The first short message is believed to have been sent in December 1992 from a Personal Computer (PC) to a mobile phone on the Vodafone GSM network in the
SMS is convenient and cost effective for a number of reasons. SMS is silent and discreet. Messages generated by SMS are immediately delivered directly to your phoneThe Short Message Service (SMS), as defined within the GSM digital mobile phone standard has several unique features:
· A single short message can be up to 160 characters of text in length.
· The Short Message Service is a store and forward service, in other words, short messages are not sent directly from sender to recipient, but always via an
· The Short Message Service features confirmation of message delivery. This means that unlike paging, users do not simply send a short message and trust and hope that it gets delivered.
· Short messages can be sent and received simultaneously with GSM voice, Data and Fax calls. This is possible because whereas voice, Data and Fax calls take over a dedicated radio channel for the duration of the call, short messages travel over and above the radio channel using the signaling path.
· Ways of sending multiple short messages are available.
How it SMS differ from Instant Messaging Service (IMS), and e-mail?
E-mail is by far the most popular messaging service currently in use in
While e-mail lets you attach files, imbed images, and make use of HTML, SMS messages are limited to text and numeral display. However, there are a few exceptions. The Nextel SMS service lets you automatically make calls from phone numbers appearing in the message text - -much like a hypertext link in an e-mail. Also, on European GSM cellular networks, SMS messages delivered to Nokia phones may have distinct ring tones or graphics attached.
On the other hand, Instant Messaging Service (IMS), made popular by AOL Instant Messenger, allows you to have virtual real-time text conversations (or chat) with people who are simultaneously connected to the Internet. SMS messages are immediate, but not simultaneous.
Which companies offer SMS ?
Today, most major cellular providers-- Airtel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Nextel, Cingular, Verizon, Sprint PCS, AT&T Wireless, VoiceStream, and US Cellular--offer some form of SMS. Keep in mind that messages can only be sent from your phone or pager to other phones or pagers within your network. You can send messages across networks if you use a public SMS messaging gateway, send from an e-mail account, or send from a PC equipped with text messaging software.
Which devices are compatible with SMS?
The most common devices used with SMS are digital cell phones equipped with one-way receive SMS capability. If you own an analog cell phone, or one that is several years old, chances are it will not be compatible with SMS.
Newer model cell phones from a number of companies like Nokia and Motorola are equipped with two-way messaging.
How do you send and receive messages?
Once you have subscribed to SMS through your service provider, receiving messages is easy. Most phones will display an incoming message alert graphic on the screen. Depending on the device, you may also set a tone to sound when incoming messages arrive. Once a message is received, you can use the scroll keys on your phone or pager to view the message text. Options to store, reply, or forward each message will be available at that time.
It is also easy to send a message. The exact procedure varies from device to device, but it usually involves entering the recipient''s phone number or e-mail address, and then composing the message with the phone keypad. You may have the option to send the message instantly or store it for later delivery.
How do you use public gateways to send messages?
Cellular service providers who offer SMS also offer public SMS gateways, which allow you to compose and send messages from the service provider''s web site. A number of independently operated message gateways also exist on the Internet. Some gateways have more features than others. A few let you compose messages to more than one recipient, create group lists, manage messages, and send pre-set or customized replies.
By using a public gateway you can send a message to a device on another network, and friends or business associates without SMS-equipped phones or pagers can send messages to you. If you don''t have access to your e-mail account, or an SMS-equipped phone, a public gateway (available from any computer with Internet access) is a convenient way keep in contact.
Unfortunately, the one drawback to using public gateways is file security. Unlike Web transmissions that occur as secure transactions, any third party could monitor the cell phone number and message contents when a message is sent through a public gateway. Messages sent from phone to phone through Short Message Service Centers are more secure, but the possibility exists that these transmissions could also be monitored.
*Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
WAP is an attempt to define the standard for how content from the Internet is filtered for mobile communications. WAP was developed to be the way of making readily available content from the Internet easily available to mobile terminals.
One of the reasons why the mobile industry has got so excited about WAP is because it combines two of the fastest growing industries: wireless and the Internet.The Wireless Application Protocol is envisaged as a comprehensive and scaleable protocol designed for use with:
- any mobile phone from those with a one line display to a smart phone
- any existing or planned wireless service such as SMS, Data, Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD) and GSM Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
- any mobile network standard such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobiles (GSM), or Universal Mobile Telephone System (3GSM)
- multiple input terminals such as keypads, keyboards, touch-screens and styluses
On the server side, there are about a dozen suppliers of WAP servers including CMG, Nokia, Ericsson, Phone.com (formerly Unwired Planet), SST, Dr. Materna, APiON, MD-Co, Akumiitti and Oracle. SMS services platform suppliers such as Sendit and Tecnomen have NOT developed their own WAP Gateway.
* SIM Application Toolkit
SIM Application Toolkit is designed as a client-server application. The biggest advantages of SIM Application Toolkit are that it has been:
- fully ratified for the past couple of years as part of the GSM standard
- incorporated into several manufacturer's phone ranges
Guide to SMS support on different networks
| Mobile Network Type | Standard Code | Adoption Rate |
| TDMA/ D-AMPS | IS-136 | 30% |
| CDMA | IS-95 (digital)IS-637
| 55% |
| GSM 1900 | GSM 1900 | 15% |
NAMPS:The analog Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone System supports short messages of up to 14 alphanumeric characters in length or 32 numeric characters.
TDMA Two way SMS has now gone live on several TDMA networks around the world including on AT&T Wireless in the
CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is an air interface technology that was developed by the
IDEN/NEXTEL: Motorola iDEN (integrated Digital Enhanced Network) is a TDMA-based digital network standard that is used by networks such as Nextel in the
* SMS Messaging Milestones
1. FIRST GENERATION SMS CENTRE
2
3. SMS MOBILE ORIGINATE
4 INFORMATION SERVICES
5 VOICE MAIL NOTIFICATION AND SMS
* Consumer Applications using SMS
SIMPLE PERSON TO PERSON MESSAGING
- VOICE AND FAX MAIL NOTIFICATIONS
- UNIFIED MESSAGING
- INTERNET EMAIL ALERTS
- PREPAYMENT
- RINGTONES
- CHAT
- INFORMATION SERVICES
*Corporate Applications using SMS
- CORPORATE EMAIL
- AFFINITY PROGRAMS
- MOBILE BANKING
- ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
- VEHICLE POSITIONING
- JOB DISPATCH
REMOTE MONITORING
The Future of SMS- Introducing the Long Message Service
Picture Messages
Pure Picture messages: - The ability to send messages which include a picture from one mobile phone user to another. This is supported by the latest Nokia phones (e.g. Nokia 3210 & 8210) and allows users to send a picture (graphical image) and some text to another user.
SMS Software's
phonebook, sms editor, sms browser, news, calendar, graphics provided by www.gsm.org
NETWORK OPERATOR MESSAGE QUANTITIES AND GROWTH
Specific examples for certain leading mobile operators are:
| Network Operator | Date | Number of Customers | Number SMS per month | Average SMS per Customer | Annualized Growth Rate |
| Sonera | Aug 98 | 1.2 million | 20 million | 17 Messages | 800% |
| Sonera | Mar 99 | 1.6 million | 40 million | 25 Messages | 200% |
| Vodafone (PRE-PAY) | Feb 99 | 1.2 million | 19 million | 16 Messages | n/a |
| Vodafone (POST-PAY) | Feb 99 | 3.8 million | 8 million | 2.1 Messages | 200% |
| Vodafone (TOTAL BASE) | Feb 99 | 5 million | 27 million | 5.5 Messages | n/a |
| Mannesmann D2 | 99 | 5 million | 100 million | 20 Messages | 800% |
SMS Centers Comparison
Because SMS is a store and forward service, every single short message of any type passes through an
| | CON | COST | DEPL | FUT | GLOB | RELIA | HARD |
| Sema | Med | Med | High | High | High | High | High |
| CMG | High | Low | High | High | Low | High | High |
| Nokia | High | Med | Med | High | Med | Med | Low |
| NewNet | High | High | Low | Med | Med | High | High |
| Aldiscon | High | Med | High | High | High | Low | Low |
| Ericsson | Med | Med | Med | Med | Med | Low | High |
| Motorola | Low | Med | Med | Med | Low | Med | High |
| Comverse | Low | High | Low | Med | Med | Med | High |
VALUE CHAIN
CONLUSION
THE FUTURE OF SMS
Introducing the Long Message Service , including photographs of sender with voice message and revolutionized technology known as MMS(MULTIMEDIA MESSAGING SERVICES).SMS applications is a here and now revenue generator with scope to grow
TO DOWN LOAD REPORT AND PPT
