SMS Hubbing Considerations
NowSMS is frequently used to provide SMS message routing connectivity between multiple SMSCs using the SMPP protocol. The purpose of this document is to clarify issues that are frequently encountered in SMS hubbing configurations. In SMS hubbing configurations, NowSMS is connected to one or more service providers using the SMPP protocol. Service providers route selected SMS messages to NowSMS...
Read MoreInternational Prefix Conversion for SMS
There are many situations where end users submit messages using local number formats, but the upstream SMSC connection requires that the message be submitted using an international format (e.g., include a country code and possibly require TON=1 for SMPP connections). For example, an end user in the UK might want to send an SMS message to 0777777777 using the local number format, but the upstream...
Read MoreMultiple SMPP Connections to One SMSC
Although it is possible for SMPP Asynchronous connections to process hundreds of SMS messages per second, sometimes there are performance gains by having more than one SMPP connection to the same SMSC. This is especially the case if the SMSC has per connection speed limits, or other performance limiting characteristics. It may also be necessary to specify more than one SMPP connection to the...
Read MoreSMPP Information and Resources
SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer) Protocol is an industry standard protocol that is used for exchanging SMS messages between peer entities. In SMPP terminology, two types of entities are defined, a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC), and an External Short Messaging Entity (ESME). In simplistic terms, an SMSC manages SMS messages for a mobile operator network, delivering SMS messages to mobile...
Read MoreSMPP Asynchronous Mode
One of the biggest limitations to SMPP performance is protocol implementations that do not support SMPP asynchronous mode, or to state it more correctly, do not take advantage of the speed boost that is possible with SMPP asynchrnous mode. SMPP Synchronous Mode = One Message at a Time In SMPP Synchrnous mode, each side of the SMPP client has only one outstanding transaction active at a time. ...
Read MoreSMPP Receipt Message ID Tracking Over Multiple Connections
One of the standard capabilities of NowSMS is the automatic mapping of receipt message IDs when routing messages to an upstream SMSC connection. The reasoning/logic is simple. When NowSMS accepts a message from a client, NowSMS needs to assign an ID to the message. When the message gets routed to an upstream SMSC, that SMSC will assign a new message ID. NowSMS saves the message ID assigned by...
Read MoreUsing NowSMS as an SMPP Server for Another Application
One of the more unusual features of NowSMS is its ability to operate as an SMPP server. NowSMS can relay messages submitted to its SMPP server to any outbound SMSC connection, which could be one or more GSM modems and/or SMPP, UCP/EMI, CIMD2 or HTTP SMSC connections. There are a few different reasons why this feature would be used. The simplest scenario is when an end user wants to use a...
Read MoreSMPP Error Code Reference
Information on how NowSMS handles different SMPP errors can be found at the following link: http://www.nowsms.com/smpp-error-code-handling-in-nowsms This article is a reference for SMPP error codes. ESME_RINVMSGLEN 1 Invalid Message Length (sm_length parameter) ESME_RINVCMDLEN 2 Invalid Command Length (command_length in SMPP PDU) ESME_RINVCMDID 3 Invalid Command ID...
Read MorePremium Rate SMS (OPPC) with Verisign and NowSMS
Here at NowSMS, we make it a point not to endorse any particular SMS service provider. We like our customers to have flexibility to choose and change SMS service providers that best fit their needs. That said, some SMS service providers have unique configuration attributes, and you need to apply special configuration parameters in NowSMS in order to take advantage of features and flexibility...
Read MoreSMPP 3.4 Protocol Specification Archive
For archive purposes, I’m posting a copy of the SMPP 3.4 Specification here. The SMS standards organization that created the specification has disbanded, and there are plans for their web site to be shut down. This doesn’t mean that SMPP is not still important for SMS. It remains the de-facto standard for application based SMS messaging. It’s just that the SMPP v3.4...
Read MoreTON and NPI Settings for SMPP and UCP/EMI
One of the most confusing issues involved in setting up an SMSC connection is when your SMS service provider requires specific TON (type of number) and NPI (numbering plan identification) values. In the majority of cases, you can ignore any requirements that your provider has for these settings, because NowSMS uses intelligent default values. For SMPP environments, these are the rules that NowSMS...
Read MoremBlox and NowSMS: Premium Rate SMS and OPPC
Here at NowSMS, we make it a point not to endorse any particular SMS service provider. The fact of that matter is that bulk SMS services are a volatile business, and we like our customers to have flexibility to choose and change SMS service providers that best fit their needs. That said, some SMS service providers have unique configuration attributes, and you need to apply special configuration...
Read MoreSMPP Connection Types – Sender, Receiver, Transceiver
When making a connection to an SMPP server, there are three different types of connections that can be supported. A “sender”, or “send only”, connection is allowed to transmit messages only over the connection, it cannot receive any messages. (Some SMPP servers will still deliver SMPP delivery receipt messages over a “sender” connection.) A...
Read MoreSMSC Speed Limits
In a perfect world, we’d all be able to send SMS messages as fast as we wanted. But the reality is that there is a combination of commercial and technical limitations throughout the message distribution chain. NowSMS has commercial limitations where outbound message delivery is throttled at a per minute or per second license limit. Individual SMS service providers have similar limits that...
Read MoreLong SMS Text Messages and the 160 Character Limit
Ok, this post may be old news to many … but it’s a question that I get asked frequently … SMS text messages are limited to 160 characters, but on most GSM networks it is possible to send longer text messages. These messages go out as multiple physical SMS messages that are logically reassembled into a single long text message by the recipient handset. How does this work? What...
Read MoreSMPP Error Code Handling in NowSMS
This should probably be in a FAQ somewhere, so I share it here … The default SMPP error code handling behaviour for NowSMS with an SMPP connection is as follows: For most SMPP error codes, NowSMS will assume that the error is temporary, and retry message delivery with a delayed retry schedule. The exceptions to this are detailed below: The following error conditions cause NowSMS to record a...
Read MoreUSSD and NowSMS
From time to time we get asked questions about USSD support in NowSMS. The quick answer is that, yes, NowSMS can support USSD … assuming that you can connect to the USSD gateway using SMPP. SMPP extensions have been defined specifically for the support of USSD, so that you don’t have to use yet another protocol. However, before you get too excited … let me explain how USSD works...
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