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.
| Previous Page | Page 11 of 65 | Next Page |  |
- 1. Introduction to SMS Messaging
- 2. What Makes SMS Messaging So Successful Worldwide?
- 3. Example Applications of SMS Messaging
- 4. What is an SMS Center / SMSC?
- 5. Basic Concepts of SMS Technology
- 6. Intra-operator SMS Messages
- 7. Inter-operator SMS Messages
- 8. International SMS Messages
- 9. What is an SMS Gateway?
- 10. How to Send SMS Messages from a Computer / PC?
- 11. How to Receive SMS Messages Using a Computer / PC?
- 12. Introduction to GSM / GPRS Wireless Modems
- 13. How to Use Microsoft HyperTerminal to Send AT Commands to a Mobile Phone or GSM/GPRS Modem?
- 14. Introduction to AT Commands
- 15. General Syntax of Extended AT Commands
- 16. Result Codes of AT Commands
- 17. AT Command Operations: Test, Set, Read and Execution
- 18. Testing the Communication between the PC and GSM/GPRS Modem or Mobile Phone
- 19. Checking if the GSM/GPRS Modem or Mobile Phone Supports the Use of AT Commands to Send, Receive and Read SMS Messages
- 20. Operating Mode: SMS Text Mode and SMS PDU Mode
- 21. Setting or Reading the Service Center Address / SMSC Address (AT+CSCA)
- 22. Preferred Message Storage (AT+CPMS)
- 23. Writing SMS Messages to Memory / Message Storage (AT+CMGW)
- 24. Deleting SMS Messages from Message Storage (AT+CMGD)
- 25. Sending SMS Messages from a Computer / PC Using AT Commands (AT+CMGS, AT+CMSS)
- 26. Reading SMS Messages from a Message Storage Area Using AT Commands (AT+CMGR, AT+CMGL)
- 27. Appendix A: How to Choose an SMS Service Provider (SMS Gateway Provider, SMS Reseller, SMS Broker)?
- 28. Appendix B: Comparison Table of SMS Service Providers (SMS Gateway Providers, SMS Resellers, SMS Brokers)
- 29. Appendix C: Free Software/Tools and Libraries for Sending and Receiving SMS Messages with a Computer / PC
- 30. Appendix D: GSM 7-bit Default Alphabet Table (with Character Codes of ISO 8859 Latin 1)