Mobile Computing

SMS
Short Message Service
Jainik Patel (112332)
Prashant Goswami (112344)

Short Message Service Defination

Short Message Service (SMS) is a text
messaging service component of phone, web, or
mobile communication systems. It uses
standardized Communications protocols to allow
fixed line or mobile phone devices to exchange
short text messages.
Also known as Simple Message Service

Why SMS?
Oldest most reliable means to communicate with
mobile users
Cell phone agnostic
Everybody is doing it
Great way to receive emergency messages at the bar

First Text

Was sent in December 1992, to a Vodafone device

Sent by Neil Papworth, saying Merry Christmas

SMS is currently supported on the major mobile

network technologies including:
GSM (Global System for Mobile communications)
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
CDMA (Carrier Division Multiplex Access)
Two types of SMS:
SMMT (Short Message Mobile Terminated Point-toPoint)
SMMO (Short Message Mobile Originated Point-toPoint)
SMMT is an incoming short message from the
network and is terminated in the MS (phone or
Mobile Station)

How it works?
Messages in Short Message Service
(SMS) must be no longer than 160
alpha-numeric characters and contain
no images or graphics.
Once a message is sent, it is received
by a Short Message Service Center
(SMSC), which must then get it to the
appropriate mobile device.
To do this, the SMSC sends a SMS
Request to the home location register
(HLR) to find the roaming customer.
Once the HLR receives the request, it
will respond to the SMSC with the

 If the response is "inactive", then the SMSC will

hold onto the message for a period of time. When
the subscriber accesses his device, the HLR sends
a SMS Notification to the SMSC, and the SMSC
will attempt delivery.
The SMSC transfers the message in a Short
Message Delivery Point to Point format to the
serving system. The system pages the device, and
if it responds, the message gets delivered.
The SMSC receives verification that the message
was received by the end user, then categorizes
the message as "sent" and will not attempt to
send again.

Bits
7 bit
8 bit
16 bit

Charact
ers
160
char
140
char
70 char

Bits
1120

SMS vs Chat Apps

By 2013, the country would have more than 750
million mobile connections; therefore the SMS usage
per user would essentially drop.
In a recent survey by Nielson, India, it was revealed
that mobile chat applications such as Nimbuzz and
WhatsApp have literally destroyed the SMS culture
and usage inside India. Powered by internet, these
applications are prompting Indians to ditch SMS
which normally costs Re 1 to Rs 1.5 for local numbers
and as high as Rs 5 for international numbers.

GSM Short Message Service

Can contain up to 140 octets, or 160 char.
To allow messages longer than 160 char.
o SMS concatenation
o SMS compression
SDCCH signaling channel
Character sets supported are
o ASCII + additional European characters
o Unicode
Two type of GSM SMS
Cell broadcast service
Point-to-point service

SDCCH/SPACH
Digital Control Channel (DCCH) packet of
information is being sent across the network.
These DCCH packets are used to transfer essential
information into the devices.
Information like a call is in coming
Paging signals from the Base stations, to work out if
a handover is needed
One of these packet formats is called SMS point to
point messaging, Paging, access control channel
(SPACH)
This message type can be used to carry a text
message.

SM-MT Service - SMS-DELIVER TPDU Structure

1-10 Octets

1
Octet

2-12 Octets

1
Octet

1
Octets

7
Octets

1
Octet

0-140 Octets

SCA

PDU
Type

OA

PID

DCS

SCTS

UDL

UD

PDU Type:
7
RP

6
UD
HI

PDU Type
RP
UDHI
SRI
MMS

Bits

MTI
SRI

MM
S

Parameter
SCA

MTI bit 1 =
0
bit 0 =
0

Description
Service Centre Address - Telephone number of the Service Centre
Protocol Data Unit Type
Reply Path - Parameter indicating that Reply Path exists
User Data Header Indicator - Parameter indicating that UD field contains a header
Status Report Indication - Parameter indicating if the SME has requested a status report
More Messages to Send - Parameter indicating whether or not there are more messages to send

MTI

Message Type Indicator - Parameter describing the message type 00 means SMS-Deliver

OA

Originator Address - Address of the originating SME

PID

Protocol Identifier - Parameter indicating the SMSC how to process the Short Message (e.g. Fax)

DCS

Data Coding Scheme - Parameter identifying the coding scheme within the User Data (UD)

SCTS

Service Centre Time Stamp - Parameter identifying the time when the SMSC received the message

UDL

User Data Length - Parameter indicating the length of the UD-field

UD

User Data - Data Field of the Short Message

SM-MO Service - SMS-SUBMIT TPDU Structure

1-10
Octets

1
Octet

1
Octet

2-12
Octets

1
Octet

1
Octets

0, 1 or 7
Octets

1
Octet

0-140
Octets

SCA

PDU
Type

MR

DA

PID

DCS

VP

UDL

UD

PDU Type:
7

RP

UDHI

SRR

VPF

2
RD

Parameter
SCA
PDU Type
RP

Bits

MTI

MTI bit 1 =
0
bit 0 =
1

Description
Service Centre Address - Telephone number of the Service Centre
Protocol Data Unit Type
Reply Path - Parameter indicating that Reply Path exists

UDHI

User Data Header Indicator - Parameter indicating that UD field contains a header

SRR

Status Report Request - Parameter indicating if the MS has requested a status report

VPF

Validity Period Format - Parameter indicating whether or not the VP field is present

RD

Reject Duplicates parameter indicating if SMSC will accept a message with same MR and DA from the same
OA

MTI

Message Type Indicator - Parameter describing the message type 01 means SMS-Submit

MR

Message Reference - Successive numbers (0255) of all SMS-SUBMIT frames sent by the MS.

DA

Destination Address - Address of the destination SME

PID

Protocol Identifier - Parameter indicating the SMSC how to process the Short Message (e.g. Fax)

DCS

Data Coding Scheme - Parameter identifying the coding scheme within the User Data (UD)

SCTS

Service Centre Time Stamp - Parameter identifying the time when the SMSC received the message

UDL

User Data Length - Parameter indicating the length of the UD-field

UD

User Data - Data Field of the Short Message

MessageSMSC
FlowGMSC
SM-MT
Messag
e
Transfe
r

HLR

sendRoutingInf
oForShortMs
g
forwardShortMessag
e

MSC

VLR

MS

sendInfoForMT-SMS

Page
Authenticate

Deliver Report

Deliver
y
Report

Message
Transfer

SMDelivery
ReportStatus

Note: ETSI/GSM MAP sendRoutingInforForShortMsg equivalent in IS41 (North American

standard) is SMSrequest mechanism, while forwardShortMessage is Short Message DeliveryPoint-to-Point (SMD-PP)

Message
Flow
SM-MO
SMSC
SMSHLR

MSC

VLR

MS

IWMSC
Access Request
Authenticate
Message
Transfer
sendInfoFor-

Messag
e
Transfe
r
Deliver
y
Report

forwardShortMessag
e

Delivery
Report

MO-SMS

Delivery
Report

Note: ETSI/GSM MAP forwardShortMessage equivalent in IS41 (North American

Standard) is Short Message Delivery-Point-to-Point (SMD-PP) mechanism

GSM Network
SMS Architecture
IWMSC
MS
Originating MS

SIM
SM-SC

Terminating MS

Short Message
Sender
SMS
GMSC

MSC

BSS

GSM Network

SMS GMSC : SMS Gateway MSC

IWMSC : Interworking MSC
SM-SC : Short Message Service Center
MSC : Mobile Switching Center
BSS : Base Station System
SIM : Subscriber Identity Module
MS : Mobile Station

Figure short message

service network

External Short Messaging Entities

An ESME is a device that may receive or send short

messages. The short message entity (SME) may be
located in the fixed network, a mobile device, or
another service center.
VMS:-The VMS is responsible for receiving, storing,
and playing voice messages intended for a subscriber
that was busy or not available to take a voice call. It is
also responsible for sending voice-mail notifications for
those subscribers to the SMSC.

Basic Network Architecture

External Short Messaging Entities

(cont.)
Web:-The growth of the Internet has also affected the
world of SMS. Therefore, it is almost mandatory to
support interconnections to the World Wide Web for
the submission of messages and notifications. The
increasing number of Internet users has a positive
impact on the SMS traffic increment experienced in
the last few years.
E-MailProbably the most demanded application of
SMS is the ability to deliver e-mail notifications and
to support two-way e-mail, using an SMScompliant
terminal. The SMSC must support interconnection to
e-mail servers acting as message input/output

STP and HLR

Signal Transfer Point:-The STP is a network element
normally available on IN deployments that allows IS41
interconnections over signaling system 7 (SS7) links
with multiple network elements.
HLR:- The 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. Also, if the destination station was not
available when the message delivery was attempted, the
HLR informs the SMSC that the station is now
recognized by the mobile network to be accessible, and

VLR and MSC

Visitor Location Register:-The visitor location register
is a database that contains temporary information
about subscribers homed in one HLR who are roaming
into another HLR. This information is needed by the
MSC to service visiting subscribers.
MSC:-The MSC performs the switching functions of the
system and controls calls to and from other telephone
and data systems. The MSC will deliver the short
message to the specific mobile subscriber through the
proper base station.

Air Interface and The Base Station System

Air Interface:-The air interface is defined in each one of

the different wireless technologies (GSM, TDMA, and
CDMA). These standards specify how the voice or data
signals are transferred from the MSC to the handset and
back, as well as the utilization of transmission
frequencies, considering the available bandwidth and the
systems capacity constraints.
The Base Station System:-All functions related to the
transmission of electromagnetic radio signals between
the MSC and the mobile devices are performed in the
base station (BS). The BS consists of base station
controllers (BSCs) and the base transceiver stations
(BTSs), also known as cell sites or simply cells. The

The Mobile Device

The mobile device is the wireless terminal capable of
receiving and originating short messages. Commonly,
these devices have been digital cellular phones, The
wireless network signaling infrastructure is based on
SS7. SMS makes use of the mobile application part
(MAP), which defines the methods and mechanisms of
communication in wireless networks and employs the
services of the SS7 transactional capabilities
application part (TCAP). An SMS service layer makes
use of the MAP signaling capabilities and enables the
transfer of short messages between the peer entities.

Signaling Elements
The MAP layer defines the operations necessary to
support SMS. The following basic MAP operations are
necessary to provide the end-to-end SMS:
Routing Information Request
Point-to-Point Short Message Delivery
Short Message Waiting Indication
Service Center Alert

Service Elements
SMS is comprised of several service elements
relevant to the reception and submission of short
messages:
Message Expiration
Priority
Message Escalation
In addition, SMS provides a time stamp reporting
the time of submission of the message to the
SMSC and an indication to the handset of whether
or not there are more messages to send (GSM) or

Short Message Service Centre (SMSC)

This is a combination of hardware and software
The SMS message will be stored at this location on a
FIFO basis
If the messages destination is within the local
network
The HLR, is queried to find the current location of
the intended device
The HLR will also inform if the device is currently
turned on
If the device is off then the HLR is informed that
there is a message waiting
When the device turns on the HLR informs the

Network Infrastructure
A generic
network
infrastruct
ure for
realizing
the
innovative
SMS
services

Evolution

SMS Protocol Hierarchy

MS

SM-SC

Short Message
Application Layer
(SM-AL)
Short Message Transfer Protocol (SM-TP)

Short Message
Transfer Layer
(SM-TL)

MSC

Short Message
Relay Layer
(SM-RL)

Short Message
Relay Entity
(SMR)

Connection
Management
Sublayer (CM-sub)

Short Message
Control Entity
(SMC)

Lower layers

Short Message
Relay Protocol
(SM-RP)
Short Message
Control Protocol
(SM-CP)

IWMSC

Short Message
Relay Entity
(SMR)
Short Message
Control Entity
(SMC)

Figure SMS MS-MSC protocol hierarchy

SMS Protocol Hierarchy

Short Message Transfer Layer
Provides services to transfer SM-AL short msg.
Generate a reference number SMI (short message
identifier)
SM-AL SMI is not carried between the MS and
SM-SC
Four types of transfer protocol data units (TPDUs)
SMS-SUBMIT
SMS-DELIVER
SMS-STATUS-REPORT
SMS-COMMAND

SMS Protocol Hierarchy

Short Message Relay Layer
Provides services to transfer TPDUs and delivery
reports for SM-TL
Generate SM-RL SMI for every short message
SM-RL SMI is mapped to and from SM-TL SMI
SM-RL SMI at the MS is not carried at the peer
entity in the SM-SC
SM-RP consists of the following RPDU types:
RP-DATA
RP-SM-MEMORY-AVAILABLE
RP-ACK

SMS Protocol Hierarchy

Connection Management Sublayer
Provides services to support the SM-RL
MS has two SMC entities
MS-originated (MO) short message service
MS-terminated (MT) short message service
SM-CP consists of following protocol elements
CP-DATA
CP-ACK
CP-ERROR

Continue

SMS Protocol Hierarchy(Cont)

MNSMS-ESTablish
To establish an MM-connection and transfer
RPDU on that establish
MNSMS-DATA
Transfer an RPDU on MM-connection
MNSMS-RELease
MNSMS-ABORT
MNSMS-ERROR

SMS VAS Users City wise Distribution:SMS is a popular medium for delivering Value Added
Services (VAS); its a valuable revenue source for
service providers, almost 5% of service provider
revenue comes from SMS VAS services the highest
revenue earning VAS.

SMS advertising is pervasive

74% of mobile subscribers in India receive
SMS advertising
66% of all messages sent in India are
premium:
content,
or votes for
What
is your
view onadvertising,
this?
reality
TV, etc use SMS today as you used earlier?
Do
you actively
Will you miss SMS if telecom companies decide to shut
down this service?
Share your views here!

Question?

THANK
YOU