21. Setting or
Reading the Service Center Address / SMSC Address (AT+CSCA)
Before
you send SMS messages, one important thing that should be done is to
make sure the correct service center address (SMSC address) has been
set properly. Typically a service center address/SMSC address is a
phone number formatted using the ISDN / telephony numbering plan (ITU
E.164/E.163). For example, +85291234567. The AT command +CSCA
(command name in text: Service Centre Address) can be used to set or
read the service center address through which SMS messages are sent.
The setting will be used by the AT commands +CMGW
(command name in text: Write Message to Memory) and +CMGS
(command name in text: Send Message).
In
SMS text mode, the only way to specify the service center address to
be used by +CMGW and +CMGS is through +CSCA. However, in SMS PDU
mode, it is possible to specify the service center address to the AT
commands +CMGW and +CMGS directly as a parameter value.
The
mobile network operator usually pre-sets the correct service center
number in the default profile of settings stored in the SIM card.
Most mobile phones provide some ways for the user to view or change
the service center number saved in the profiles of settings. For
example, on my Nokia 6021 mobile phone, the message center number
saved in the default profile of settings can be viewed and changed by
going to Menu -> Messages -> Message settings
-> Text messages -> Sending profile -> Default
profile -> Message centre number.
Some
GSM/GPRS modems and mobile phones (for example, Nokia 6021, Sony
Ericsson T68i, Philips 598, etc) use the service center number in the
default profile of settings as the default value of the +CSCA AT
command. As a result, if the service center number in the default
profile of settings is correct, you do not need to use the +CSCA AT
command to set the service center number.
Note
To
some mobile devices such as Nokia 6021, the +CSCA AT command does not
save the service center number in non-volatile memory. Hence, if you
switch off the GSM/GPRS modem or mobile phone, the setting will be
gone. To save the service center number set with the AT command
+CSCA, you have to make use of the AT command +CSAS (command name in
text: Save Settings). To restore the saved service center number, the
AT command +CRES (command name in text: Restore Settings) is
required.
The
command behavior is different on some mobile devices such as Sony
Ericsson T68i and Philips 598. Every time the AT command +CSCA is
used to change the SMSC address, the new SMSC address is saved to
non-volatile memory.
21.1. Syntax of the
+CSCA AT Command
21.1.1. Setting the
Service Center Address
To
set the service center address, perform a set operation with the
+CSCA AT command using the following syntax: (Optional parameters are
enclosed in square brackets.)
+CSCA=address[,address_type]
The
address Parameter
The
first parameter of the +CSCA AT command, address,
specifies the SMSC address to be set. Usually it is a phone number
formatted using the typical ISDN / telephony numbering plan (ITU
E.164/E.163). For example, "+85291234567". Note that the
value assigned to the address
parameter should be a string, which means you should use double
quotes to enclose the phone number.
The
address_type Parameter
The
second parameter of the +CSCA AT command, address_type,
specifies the type of the SMSC address assigned to the address
parameter. Two values, 129 and 145, are commonly used.
129.
Meaning: The SMSC address is formatted using the typical ISDN /
telephony numbering plan (ITU E.164/E.163) but it is not sure
whether the SMSC address is an international number, a national
number or a number of other types. Example addresses: "85291234567"
and "91234567".
145.
Meaning: The SMSC address is formatted using the typical ISDN /
telephony numbering plan (ITU E.164/E.163) and it is an
international number. Example address: "+85291234567".
As
address_type is an
optional parameter, it can be omitted. If you do so, the GSM/GPRS
modem or mobile phone will use the default value of the address_type
parameter, which is:
129
if the SMSC address does not start with a "+" character.
For example, "85291234567".
145
if the SMSC address starts with a "+" character. For
example, "+85291234567".
21.1.2. Reading the
Service Center Address
To
read the service center address, you can perform a read operation
using the +CSCA read command "+CSCA?". The information
response returned has the following format:
+CSCA:
address,address_type
The
definition of address
and address_type is
the same as above.
21.2. Example
Demonstrating How to Use the +CSCA AT Command to Set and Read the
Service Center Address
Now
let's see an example that demonstrates how to use the +CSCA AT
command to set and read the service center address. As said earlier,
sometimes a proper service center address is in use by default and
there is no need to make any changes. So first let's type the read
command "+CSCA?" in a terminal program (for example,
HyperTerminal in Microsoft Windows) to check if a proper service
center address is in use currently. The response returned from a
GSM/GPRS modem or mobile phone should be something like this:
AT+CSCA?
+CSCA:
"+85291111111",145
OK
If
you find that the service center address is not correct, use the
+CSCA AT command to change it, like this:
AT+CSCA="+85290000000",145
OK
The
final result code OK indicates the service center address was set
successfully. If the execution of the command line fails, the final
result code will be ERROR.
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