10.2. The 2nd Way: Sending SMS Messages from a Computer through a Connection to the SMSC or SMS Gateway of a Wireless Carrier or SMS Service Provider

The way for sending SMS messages from a computer through a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem has a major limitation, that is the SMS sending rate is too low. If you need a high SMS sending rate, obtaining a direct connection to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier is necessary. The connection may be made through the Internet, X.25 or dial-up. If you cannot get a direct connection to the SMSC or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier, another choice is to get a connection to the SMS gateway of an SMS service provider, which will forward SMS messages towards a suitable SMSC.

10.2.1. Difficulties in Getting a Direct Connection to the SMSC or SMS Gateway of a Wireless Carrier

It can be difficult for small businesses or individual application developers to obtain a direct connection to the SMSC or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier since a wireless carrier may only provide such service to those who have huge SMS traffic. Buying SMS messages in bulk means the total fee will be very high (although the fee per SMS message will be low).

Besides, the information about the service (for example, cost of the service, protocols supported, network coverage) is usually not stated clearly on a wireless carrier's web site. This is because the wireless carrier staff wants to know more about your SMS messaging application, such as its nature and traffic requirement, before offering a price and providing further information to you. To decide which wireless carrier's service plan is the best, you have to discuss with the sales staff of each wireless carriers. This is troublesome if you just want to send a small number of SMS messages. (Of course if you need to send a large amount of SMS messages, say one million SMS messages per month, negotiating with the wireless carrier staff for a more favorable agreement is a necessary step.)

A more convenient way to send SMS messages is to use the SMS connectivity service of an SMS service provider, which is described in the next section.

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