Staying Ahead of Technology with SMPP

SMPP is more than just an application programming interface (API) that allows you to stay in touch with customers and employees – it provides a way to stay abreast of changing technology and is a simple and inexpensive way to ensure that your content gets noticed.

A couple of years back, it was almost impossible to think that cellular phones would be able to do almost anything a computer can do – from surfing the web, storing and opening visual and audio media and even word processing. But now it’s a given and, in some cases, may still not be enough. The problem is that no one can really say where it’s all heading – current preferences in electronics depend on user preference as well as new developments that could potentially change the way we interact with our beloved devices. So where does SMPP come in?

SMS as Technological Lingua Franca?

Here’s an interesting bit of information: the first SMS message between two people was sent in Finland, 1993. Since then SMS took off to become a ubiquitous method of communication, not only from person to person, but from business to consumer, etc. The proof lies in the fact that every cellular phone now shipped, whether smartphone or otherwise, has the ability to send and receive SMS messages, making it the most versatile method of distributing mobile content. With SMPP, one of the most powerful protocols available, you will be able to get in touch with a large number of individuals in a short amount of time.

So About SMPP…

SMPP, or Short Message Peer-to-Peer, is a protocol that allows companies to integrate their systems with an SMS gateway. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of this protocol, aside from the fact that integration can be seamless, is its ability to relay messages at high speeds to a large number of destination devices, making it the perfect tool for communication with customers and employees, both locally and internationally.

But there’s a bit more, and it’s perhaps the most important part, especially in terms of distributing content to different types of mobile devices. And that is the ability to send messages in different formats, including binary and Unicode. Combine that with SMPP’s quick message relaying capability, and you’ve got the ability to send URLs, images, audio files and much more using a simple medium common to every cellular phone.

And MMS…?

When speaking about sending different types of content via SMS, you’re almost inclined to wonder where MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service, comes in. Although MMS provides similar functionality, it has to be kept in mind that:

• It is not supported by all devices
• MMS is not supported by all networks across the globe
• In some cases users will have to establish a WAP connection, meaning that they have to use their airtime to view your content (this becomes especially important when sending to countries where receiving an SMS is free)
• Not all cellular phones have the ability to display all types of content
• In many cases users are notified via binary SMS (URL included in message) that they have an MMS message waiting.

But who knows what the future holds? For now, however, it is safe to say that SMS, with SMPP as one of its most powerful message relaying protocols, is here to stay.

For more information on how you can enable your business with high-speed messaging, click to read more about SMPP.

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Tags: Bulk SMS messaging, fast messaging, SMPP, SMPP API, SMS protocol, SMS v MMS