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Technology
Q.1 What is SMS?
Q.2 What are the benefits of SMS?
Q.3 What are the Elements of the SMS Architecture?
Q.4 What is the Short Message Service Center?
Q.5 What are the basic MAP operations necessary
to provide end-to-end Short Message Service?
Q.6 What Service Elements, does the SMS comprise
of?
Q.7 How is the message status notified to the
SMSC?
Q.8 What Potential Applications can be envisaged,
using the SMS?
Q.9What are the various steps involved in a
"Successful short message transfer attempt"?
Product
Q.10 Is the SMS Y2K compliant?
Q.11 What Message Capabilities are provided
by the SMS Release 2.0?
Q.12 What Future Capabilities are planned
for the SMS?
Q.13 Is VMS connectivity possible with the
SMS Release 2.0?
Q.14 What Information is provided by the SMS
Server GUI?
Q.15 What OSS capabilities does the SMS Server
have?
Q.16 How is the SMS connected to the MSC?
Q.1 What is SMS?
Ans. Short message service (SMS) is a globally
accepted wireless service that enables the transmission of alphanumeric
messages between mobile subscribers and external systems such
as electronic mail, paging and voice mail systems.
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Q.2 What are the benefits of SMS?
Ans. SMS provides a powerful vehicle for service
differentiation. The benefits of SMS to the service provider are:
- Increased call completion on wireless and wire-line networks
by leveraging the notification capabilities of SMS.
- An alternative to alphanumeric paging services
- Enabling wireless data access to corporate users
- Provision of value added services as email, voicemail, and
fax mail integration , reminder service, stock and currency
quotes, and airline schedules
- Provision of key administrative services such as advice of
charge, over the air downloading and service provisioning
- What are the Elements of the SMS Architecture?
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Q. 3 What are the Elements of the
SMS Architecture?
SMS Architecture
The above figure shows the basic network structure of the SMS.
It consists of the following:
- Short Messaging Entity: SME is an entity, which may
receive or send short messages. The SME may be located in the
fixed network, a mobile station, or another service center
- Short Message Service Center: SMSC is responsible
for the relaying and store and forwarding of a short message
between an SME and mobile station.
- SMS-Gateway MSC: is an MSC capable of receiving a
short message from an SMSC, "interrogating a home location
register (HLR) for routing information, and delivering the short
message to the visited MSC of the recipient mobile station.
- Home Location Register: HLR is a database used for
permanent storage and management of subscriptions and service
profiles. Upon interrogation by the SMSC, the HLR provides the
routing information for the indicated subscriber.
- Mobile Switching Center: The mobile switching center
(MSC) performs the switching functions of the system and controls
calls to and from other telephone and data systems
- Visitor Location Register: (VLR) is a database that
contains temporary information about subscribers. This information
is needed by the MSC in order to service visiting subscribers
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Q.4 What is the Short Message Service
Center?
Ans. See SMS Architecture
Q.5 What are the basic MAP operations
necessary to provide end-to-end Short Message Service?
Ans. The following basic MAP operations are
necessary to provide end to end short message service:
- Routing Information Request: The SMSC needs to retrieve
routing information from the HLR, in order to determine the
serving MSC for the addressed mobile station. This process is
carried out before delivering the message.
- Point to Point Short Message Delivery: The mechanism
provides a means for the SMSC to transfer a short message to
the MSC, which is serving the addressed mobile station.
- Short message waiting indication: This operation
is activated when a short message delivery attempt by the SMSC
fails due to a temporary failure. This provides a means for
the SMSC to request the HLR to add an SMSC address to the list
of SMSC s to be informed when the indicated mobile station becomes
accessible.
- Service Center Alert: The operation provides a means
for the HLR to inform the SMSC which has previously initiated
unsuccessful short message delivery attempts to a specific mobile
station, that the mobile station is now recognized by the mobile
network to be accessible.
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Q.6 What Service Elements, does the SMS
comprise of?
Ans. The SMS comprises several service elements
relevant to the reception and submission of short messages:
- Validity Period: The validity period indicates how
long the SMSC shall guarantee the storage of the short message
before delivery to the intended recipient
- Priority: Priority is the information element provided
by an SME to indicate the priority message
In addition, SMS provides a time stamp reporting the time of
submission of the message and an indication to the handset of
whether or not there are more messages to send (GSM) or the number
of additional messages to send (IS41)
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Q.7 How is the message status notified
to the SMSC?
Ans. The SMSC is notified of the message status
through MAP operations. Go to Basic Map Operations.
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Q.8 What Potential Applications can be envisaged,
using the SMS?
Ans. Some of the potential applications of SMS
technology, utilizing the Mobile Terminated and Mobile Originated
SMS are:
- Notification Services
- E-mail Interworking
- Paging Interworking
- Information Services
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Q.9 What are the various steps involved
in a "Successful short message transfer attempt"?
Ans. The following steps are involved in a Successful
short message transfer attempt:
- The short message is submitted from the SME to the SMSC
- After completing its internal processing ,the SMSC interrogates
the HLR and receives the routing information for the mobile
subscriber
- The SMSC sends the short message to the MSC using the Forward
Short message operation
- The MSC retrieves the subscriber information from the VLR.
This operation may include an authentication procedure.
- The MSC transfers the short message to the MS
- The MSC returns to the SMSC the outcome of the Forward Short
message operation
- If requested by the SME, the SMSC returns a status report
indicating delivery of the short message.
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Q.10 Is the SMS Y2K compliant?
Ans. Yes! The SMS Release 2.0 is Y2K compliant.
The product has been developed to take care of the Y2K compliance,
following which no two digit year entry for dates are acceptable
in the system.
Q.11 What Message Capabilities are
provided by the SMS Release 2.0?
Ans. The SMS Release 2.0 has the following message capabilities:
- Message Priority: The SMS supports 10 message priorities
- Mobile Terminated Messages: This feature allows messages
to be sent to mobiles
- Group Lists: for sending SMS message to mobiles in
a group: Logical groups can be formed with a number of mobiles
in each group.
- Alert based Retry: Rather than retrying on its own,
the SMS waits for the MSC to alert the SMS that a mobile is
available for retrying the SMS message for delivery. This reduces
retry load on the Mobile MSC considerably.
Q.12 What Future Capabilities are planned
for the SMS?
Ans. The following message capabilities have
been planned for the future releases of SMS:
- Mobile Originated Message (Option-not available in the
current release): With this option mobiles can send messages
to other subscribers and even on the internet if the SMS has
email connectivity
- Virtual SMS (Option - not available in the current release):
With this feature one SMS system can be made to appear as the
SMS for multiple mobile networks. With this feature SMS can
also be delivered to roaming subscribers.
Q.13 Is VMS connectivity possible with
the SMS Release 2.0?
Ans. VMS connectivity is provided as an optional service
as per service providers' specs. VMS users are usually sent intimations
of arrival of a voice mail via the SMS. The VMS system connects
to the SMS system over X.25 or TCP/IP LAN
Q.14 What Information is provided
by the SMS Server GUI?
Ans. The SMS Server is Win GUI based, providing the following
info:
- Link Status: provides status of links (UP/Down) to
MSC
- Message Delivery Channel Status: SMS messages are
delivered on multiple logical channels.
- This provides the status of each of these channels.
- Event Logging: The Event log is displayed on screen
- Status of Channel: Free/Busy
- Interface with SS7: LME (Layer management environment)
command exchange display etc.
Q.15 What OSS capabilities does
the SMS Server have?
Ans. The SMS Server provides the following OSS capabilities
along with SMS Server GUI options:
- System Configuration
- Event Logging
- Message Archival: Messages are archived to files
after a configured period.
Q.16 How is the SMS connected to
thse MSC?
Ans. Up to the link level the SMS connects to the MSC
via SS7 TCAP over E1 lines. On top of the SS7 the SMSC can be
connected either using GSM 3.40 if the MSC supports the gateway
function. If not, it can also connect via GSM 9.02(part) and does
the required HLR operations.
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Last updated : February 2, 2004
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