FUTURE OF GSM AND ITS

EVOLUTION: SMS SERVICE

Samuel Demeke, Solomon Bekele, Wondale kebede, Yohannes Belayneh, Yosef Abera,
Zemene Markos
 INTRODUCTION
The GSM committee was founded at the end of 1982, and the main responsibility assigned to the
committee was the standardization of a future Pan-European mobile communication service and system
using the 900 MHz band. The committee’s main goals were for the service to be focused upon mobile
telephony, but it was expected that non-voice services would also be required, mobile stations were to
be used in all participating countries, including support of handheld mobile stations and all services that
existed in the fixed networks were to be made available to mobile stations.

By that time the existing analogue mobile telephony networks had no non-voice services except the
packet radio networks which had a support for text communication since 1978. Also, private mobile
radio systems like Mobitex had supported text messaging since about 1980. Therefore, a need existed to
offer attractive non-voice services in the GSM system.

Based on these and other requirements, the GSM Recommendation 02.07 describes what the main
functionalities that the mobile equipment has to support. Of these functionalities, the most important
and mandatory features were: DTMF capability, Short Message Service (SMS) capability, Availability of
the ciphering algorithms A5/1 and A5/2; display capability for short messages, dialed numbers, and
available PLMN, support of emergency calls even without the SIM inserted.

Although ‘Text communication’ is a term that has existed since the 1970s and broadly describes all
forms of text communication (Telex, Teletex, fax, etc.), the GSM SMS service – short message service –
comprised elements of these text communication systems but went much further: a very versatile
element for both the private and the business sectors, enabling messaging in both directions and
delivery confirmation. It was a very special type of messaging implemented as an integral part of the
signaling systems and was proposed in GSM as the only new service that did not already exist in public
networks.

Starting from its introduction to the world market, SMS has been going through success. Now-a-days
it has almost all the world mobile subscribers as users. As some researches indicate more than 50 short
messages are generated per month per GSM user. The service has also created a high turnover to the
telecom industry. This success has been enabled mainly by the comprehensive and robust standards
that have been made mandatory for every network and for every mobile from the very beginning.
 1. EVOLUTION OF SMS
Text messaging was a known telecommunications service years before the development of GSM, the
Global System for Mobile communications, started in 1982 as Pan-European cooperation. The SMS
concept was developed in the Franco-German GSM cooperation in 1984 by Friedhelm Hillebrand and
Bernard Ghillebaert. The main idea behind SMS was to use GSM’s telephone-optimized system, and to
transport messages on the signaling paths needed to control the telephone traffic during periods when
the signaling channels are idle. However, it was necessary to limit the length of the messages to 128
bytes (later improved to 160 seven-bit characters) so that some part of the signaling channels can be
used with the existing signaling formats. In a first work phase from February 1985 to the end of 1986,
the GSM committee specified the service features of the Short Message Service (SMS). Most
contributions came from Germany and France. From 1987 onwards, the technical realization of SMS was
standardized in a small group called Drafting Group on Message Handling (DGMH) whose technical work
was mostly provided by Finland, France, Norway and the UK.

The evolution of the SMS service can be seen as a three phase process which can be summarized as
follows:

1.1 The Creation of the SMS Concept from Mid-1984 to Early 1987
For message transmission, the signaling links needed for telephony could be used. Such links had a
limited throughput. Owing to the limited quality of the underlying radio links, the protocols used frames
with a length that would allow only the transmission of a short message. In addition, the signaling
system used within the fixed part of the mobile network and between mobile and fixed networks, had a
maximum frame length of less than 300 bytes, of which only a part was usable for short message
transmission. The maximum message length was estimated in the beginning as 128 bytes, allowing the
transmission of about 146 characters using 7 bits per character of International Alphabet No. 5. The only
new network element needed was a dedicated short message service center server to store and forward
the short messages. This server could also take care of the delayed transmission of messages to mobile
stations that were temporarily unreachable.

The standardization phase from February 1985 to April 1987 resulted in a general concept of SMS.
Selected aspects of the service were described but priority was given to telephony aspects which mainly
consisted of the voice service. This first phase of the SMS specifications comprised items such as service
definition, network architecture, topology and protocols, acknowledgement capabilities, functionality
for alerting on messages waiting, time stamping and capabilities of identifying application protocols.

1.2 The Evolution of SMS Features and Specifications from October 1990 to the End of 1996
At the start of this period the SMS standard was more or less fully defined from a theoretical
perspective. Yet it was not really ‘market ready’ because the developers were not quite sure how the
market would respond to the features available, and how much more development would be needed to
meet the market needs. But at the same time key market requirement features, such as SMS delivery
reports were introduced in this period. At the end of this period, SMS emerged as a strong and essential
component of GSM. The following improvements were made between 1990 and 1996: Continuous
Message Flow, Multiple Service Centre Scenarios, Delivery Reports, Storing SMS on the SIM Card,
Memory Capacity Available Indication, sending to and Receiving from Non-Numeric Addresses, Storage
of SMS in the Phone, SMS API, Specifying Service Centre Interconnect to the Cellular Network, Improved
Error Reporting, Using SMS to Alert to Waiting Voicemail, SMS Divert, SMS Message Indication, SMS
Between Networks.

1.3 The Evolution of SMS Features and Specifications from the Beginning of 1997 to Mid-2009
Throughout the period between 1997 and 2009, SMS was continually enhanced, much of the work
being based on the commercial need for improvements and the addition of features. Although around
26 new features were introduced during this period, those that are considered as the main ones
depending on their value to SMS were SIM toolkit data download and secure messaging, SMS
compression, Enhanced Messaging Service, Voicemail management, Routers and addition of Language
tables.

In addition to some of the key enhancements described above, there have been a number of
important corrections without which there may have been serious issues arising concerning
interworking between mobile phones of different manufacture and established SMS services. These
include Reserved Code Points, Port Numbers, support of SMS in GPRS and UMTS.

In the years following 2009, the mobile networks have evolved from a circuit switched approach to a
complete packet switched one. The LTE network offers high bandwidth, low latency and improved
spectrum efficiency. It provides IP connectivity but does not support valuable legacy services such as the
SMS in Release 8 to 10. 3GPP is currently specifying two architectures for SMS transmission over LTE in
Release 11. Two complementary scenarios are proposed by 3GPP, depending on the type of LTE device
used. When an SMS-capable LTE device communicates to a GSM device, the gateway realizes transport
level interworking. However, if the LTE user is unable to create or read SMSs, the IP-SM-GW performs
service level interworking. This implementation of an IP-SM-GW is transparent to the end user, and does
not imply any changes in the 2G/3G architecture. This solution is necessary for an operator since it
offers his subscribers a higher level of trust and a better acceptance of the implementation of LTE.

2. SMS TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

2.1 SMS in 2G/3G
Originally the core network elements supported services. SMS service was one of them and very
important one. The application server is called SMSC.

Fig.1 2G and 3G network architecture

SMSC is a combination of hardware and software responsible for the relaying, storing and
forwarding of a short message between an SME and mobile device. The main functionality of SMSC is to
“Store-and-forward”. Basically the SMSC receives an SMS (MO-FWSM), stores it and acknowledges it
back. Then it tries to deliver it. For that it needs to receive the routing information from HLR. If the
delivery is not successful the message is scheduled for a retry.

The routing of MT (Mobile terminated) message is done based on the information received from
HLR. So firstly based on the message prefix we will route Send-Routing-Information-request (SRI-req) to
a responsible HLR. HLR takes a look in its tables and finds out what MSC is currently handling the
recipient. The address (Global Title) is returned as Network-Node-Number (NNN). It is possible to return
both MSC and SGSN address and the preference how to deliver the message.
 Fig.2 SMSC flow

There are some more operations as Alert SC and RMDS which have to be supported. Alert-Service-
Centre message is used to trigger the SMSC to deliver messages of previously Absent Subscribers.
Report-SM-Delivery-Status is sent by SMSC to update the information about subscriber in HLR.
Anyway both the architecture and the massage flows are much simpler than in case of IMS.

The mobile station is the wireless terminal capable of receiving and originating short messages. These
are usually digital cellular phones; The wireless infrastructure is based upon signaling system no. 7 (SS7).
More specifically, the SS7 mobile applications part (MAP) defines mechanisms and methods of wireless
communication, and the transactional capabilities application part (TCAP) in which SMS service layer
makes use of the MAP signalling capabilities and enables the transfer of short messages. SS7 is a general
purpose signaling system widely used in ISDN and other public networks.
 Fig.3 SS7 protocol structure

The TUP and ISUP parts support telephone operations. The Transaction Capability Application Part
(TCAP) is an application layer protocol. It allows an application at one node to invoke execution of a
procedure at another and facilitates the exchange of the results. It effectively shields the user from the
complexity of the transaction layers by automatically handling transaction and state changes, as well as
generating ‘abort’ or ‘reject’ messages fully compatible with ITU and American (ANSI) standards.
The Mobile Application Part (MAP) thus uses the services of TCAP to provide the signaling capabilities
for mobile applications. The Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP), together with MTP, corresponds
to the lower three layers of the OSI model. SCCP allows for connection-oriented and connectionless
services for data transfer. It is reliable and independent of the underlying hardware and transparent to
users. Logical signalling connections within SS7 are used to ensure reliability and integrity of data
transferred.

The Message Transfer Parts (MTP) splits into three sub layers;

Level 3: provides congestion control, signalling management, message discrimination (Priority),

distribution and routing much like the network layer in OSI.

Level 2: provides a reliable, sequenced delivery of packets over level 1 connections, like the OSI data link
layer

Level 1: defines characteristics of the digital signalling link and is equivalent to the OSI physical layer

2.2 SMS in LTE

LTE was specified by the 3GPP in release 8. LTE is designed as a pure packet switched system (all-IP
next generation network). Legacy circuit switched services are no longer supported. This implies that
support of voice and SMS within LTE have to be done with other different options. When it comes to
voice support in LTE, the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a key technology. IMS provides a framework
for supporting IP based services and requires new IMS-specific network elements as part of the
dedicated core network architecture.

Alternatives and intermediate solutions for supporting voice services in LTE were investigated more
deeply. The most important and commercially relevant one is the circuit switched fallback which
basically provides subscribers with voice services via the legacy networks GSM or UMTS. The users “fall
back” to one of these technologies as soon as they initiate a voice call within LTE coverage or if they
accept a terminating voice call. CSFB has become the recommended solution for network operators who
are looking for an intermediate non-IMS voice solution.

There are two main ways by which SMS can be delivered over LTE system.

2.2.1 SMS over SGS

SMS over SGs uses tight integration between the existing UMTS, GSM and the new LTE network
(creating an interface between MSC and the LTE MME, which is called SGs). This requires an upgrade of
the large parts of the UMTS, GSM signaling network (MSCs), but once this integration is in place, no
changes are required to the SMS architecture specifically.

The mobile does not have to hand over to a 2G or 3G network before sending or receiving a message:
instead, the network delivers SMS messages by embedding them into signaling messages between the
MME and the MSC server. The technique is therefore known as SMS over Sgs.

To use this technique, the mobile registers with the circuit switched domain using the combined
EPS/IMSI attach procedure. It can then send an SMS message to the MME, by embedding it into an
EMM message known as Uplink NAS transport. The MME can then forward the SMS message to the MSC
server, by embedding it into a SGsAP Uplink Unitdata message. From there, the SMS message is passed
to the SMS interworking MSC and the service center.

If a mobile terminated SMS reaches the MSC server while the mobile is in ECM-IDLE state, then the
MSC server alerts the MME using a SGsAP Paging Request. This triggers the paging procedure and the
mobile replies by initiating a service request. The MME can then retrieve the SMS message from the
MSC server and can deliver it to the mobile.

Fig.4 Architecture for SMS over SGs

2.2.2 SMS over IMS

Since LTE is a Packet Switched network, its two components (E-UTRAN and EPC) connect to each
other via IP. In the LTE architecture, the evolved packet core (EPC) is a direct replacement for the packet
switched domain of UMTS and GSM. The evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)
handles the EPC’s radio communications with the mobile, so it is a direct replacement for the UTRAN.
Therefore, in order to facilitate the implementation of legacy Circuit Switched (CS) functionalities like
voice and SMS, the EPC needs to connect to another network: the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

The IMS can also deliver SMS messages, using a technique known as SMS over generic IP access. The
IP short message gateway (IP-SM-GW) acts as an interface between the IMS and the network elements
that handle SMS messages. To transmit an SMS message, the mobile embeds it into a SIP signaling
message and sends it to the IP multimedia subsystem. Inside the IMS, the IM-SM-GW extracts the
embedded SMS message and sends it to a standard SMS device known as the SMS interworking MSC
(SMS-IWMSC). This device then forwards the message to the SMS service center (SC), which stores the
message for delivery to its destination. The same sequence is used in reverse to deliver a message,
except that the SMS interworking MSC is replaced by another device known as the SMS gateway MSC
(SMS-GMSC).

IMS allows the sending of messages of 200 bytes with acknowledgement. The messages are sent
between users in real-time. The service provides a fast enough exchange of messages for an interactive
conversation to take place.

Fig.5 Architecture for SMS over the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS)

3. CHALLENGES AND FUTURE OF SMS TECHNOLOGY

Consumers' options for text-based communications are growing rapidly, and a number of low-cost
and even free alternatives to SMS are experiencing increased rates of use. Two different over-the-top
(OTT) alternatives have emerged: OS-specific communication systems such as iMessage and Blackberry
Messenger, and third-party applications such as WhatsApp and Kakao Talk, which are often cross-
platform. Generally speaking, both sets of applications promise a richer user experience at a price
materially lower than traditional SMS messaging [2].

The core drivers behind OTT “tipping” in the market are:

Technology readiness: In general, a base level of technology must be in place for dramatic OTT
uptake to take place. Countries with 3G or better networks and high levels of smartphone
penetration are the most likely to have a wide distribution of OTT apps.

A cost incentive to adopt OTT: Compared to SMS, OTT alternatives are often very low cost or
free. The high cost of SMS technology in some markets incentivizes the switch to inexpensive
OTT technology.
 The social tendency to adopt OTT: research indicates that the decision to switch to an OTT
application often happens at the micro level. The mobile messaging platform utilized by an
individual person’s social group is a substantial influencing factor.

The strength of the OTT alternative: The strength of the OTT applications available is a primary
indicator of greatest risk of a rapid decline in SMS volume [2].

Many experts have their own opinion to answer the challenging question “what will be the fate of
SMS in the coming years?”

Kane Russell, who worked in mobile marketing whole career with companies like Anheuser-Busch,
clarify as

“In terms of a communication channel, SMS isn't going anywhere in the medium term. Have a look
at these stats from Portion Research: http://blog.msgme.com/2011/11/18..., which shows that SMS
will continue to grow through 2015. The reason for SMS's longevity is that it's cross carrier/device,
easy to use, installed on to every phone and the best way to get in touch with someone today (e.g.
Facebook wants to control security using SMS because email is ineffective:
http://blog.msgme.com/2012/06/15...).”

In terms of a strategy, SMS marketing in the future will become less about blasting messages and
more about interacting with a customer database on a level of personalized engagement. This is to
say that the percentage of total messages coming from subscribers will increases related to the
percentage of messages sent to subscribers. In addition, SMS will become more integrated with
other channels, forming more of a cross-channel messaging strategy. For example, you starting to
see more and more email service providers integrate SMS as an additional channel into their digital
communication set.

This is not to say that SMS will last forever. As network based communications like iMessage,
Android Message, Face book Messenger start gaining more and more penetration thanks to
widespread smartphone use and pressure from users, SMS will decline. I would imagine that the
carriers have to be thinking pretty hard about how to defend this cash cow, so look for a response
from carriers as to what will replace SMS in their revenue portfolio.

Getting out the crystal ball, ultimately (let's say 2020), SMS will be a legacy channel used only for
automated communications from large enterprise type institutions that are slower to change than
more nimble organizations. Similar to how direct mail used today”

Another Professor of Innovation at IE Business School and blogger at enriquedans.com, Dans ,

explains the following points in “Enrique Dans” page

“SMS makes very good use of the radio network, and text messages can also be sent and received
even when a call is being made. Their smallness means that users do not need to be given a radio
channel as with a call, and can instead be inserted in the network’s own signaling information. This
simplicity, along with the fact that phones do not need special software, has led some optimistic
souls.
 In my opinion, SMS is an obsolete technology, one that survives largely due to corporate inertia.

Facebook recently announced that the future of WhatsApp lay with business accounts, to be
used for customer services or marketing. The mass roll out of these types of accounts is supposed to
take place before the end of this year, and will give companies advanced contact center features
such as multi-user management, direct connection to corporate databases and CRM, as well as user
tracking, indicators, analytics, redirecting, automatic text generation, all of which will make SMS
look like something out of the stone age. And while all this is going on, we will also see the rapid
development of advanced bots and chat bots based on machine learning, all of which will extend
into the corporate sphere.

The use of SMS will soon be limited to special types of communications, machine-to-machine
(M2M), Internet of Things (IoT), etc. where its many limitations can be turned into real advantages,
but if you were planning on using SMS for commercial or customer service purposes, be aware that
there are better solutions now, and the market will shift gears soon. Companies that hang on to
obsolete technology will end up looking equally outdated. ”

Whatever the trends, the overall picture only illustrates the continuing strategic importance of SMS
to operators; it is also worth noting the continued importance of SMS to users. The technology, or
rather the service, has shown the ability to adapt itself to a whole host of use cases, with the market
seeing a great expansion in the application of SMS. SMS is now utilized by brands for marketing,
advertising, vouchers, promotions and competitions; by transport and other organizations for customer
messaging and ticketing; by banks and financial services companies for transactions, notification and
security; by TV and media bodies for voting and viewer or listener interaction; by messaging companies
to transcode emails to SMS, and vice versa, so that users in emerging markets or without internet
connections can receive and respond to emails. Finally, SMS is a key bearer for much of the M2M
market, delivering notifications and messages between enterprise platforms and endpoints across the
globe [1].

In all of these cases the attractions of SMS are its cost effectiveness, its reliability and its availability.
That ubiquity real-time messaging system across devices and markets can still not be matched by the
over-the-top (OTT) or rival messaging applications [1].
[Source]: “Assuring the future of SMS”, telecoms.com intelligence, FEBRUARY 2013

Consideration is now being given in standardization and in large companies to using SMS as the
transport mechanism for machine-to-machine communication (m2m). This means that every car, every
machine in every factory and even electricity, water and gas consumption meters could in the future be
equipped with SMS-capable mobiles. The reality is that SMS is as popular as ever and shows no sign of
diminishing. SMS is enjoying a long history of success analogous to the history of telex and facsimile – all
services attributing their success to simplicity [3].
 SUMMARY
In this report we tried to cover the SMS technology’s history, evolution and its futurity in the mobile
system. As futurity of SMS is the main target of the paper, currently existing challenges in the market as
well as in its evolution are raised. In summary we can say that the biggest challenge that posed danger
on the longevity of SMS is the emergence of OTT apps which made it to shrink in demand. Even if these
rivals are not originating from the right track of the mobile evolution as the SMS does, they are
becoming better choices especially for person to person communication. This doesn’t mean SMS is
totally overtaken, it still has better features that made it preferable by some groups such as NGO’s,
developing countries and mobile marketers. In the 5G it is also hoped that SMS will have big
contribution in applications such as M2M and IoT. But it is difficult to be sure as it is not possible to
predict what better option is to be offered by other advancing technologies as it happened by the OTT.
In short we can state that currently SMS is competing and it has hopeful futurity but dependent on what
is to emerge next

References
[1] “Assuring the future of SMS”, telecoms.com intelligence, February 2013

[2] James Chavin, Aadil Ginwala and Max Spear “The future of mobile messaging: Over-the-top
competitors threaten SMS ” ,McKinsey & Company, Inc., September, 2012

[3] Friedhelm Hillebrand , Finn Trosby, Kevin Holley & Ian Harris, “Short message service (SMS)”, A John
Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Publication, 2010
[4] Christopher Cox, AN INTRODUCTION TO LTE, LTE, LTE-ADVANCED, SAE AND 4G MOBILE
COMMUNICATIONS, 2012

[5] Rohde & Schwarz ,Voice and SMS in LTE,May,2011

[6] Filipe A. Leitão, Sérgio S. Freire and Solange Rito Lim, SMS over LTE: Interoperability between Legacy
and Next Generation Networks,