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Thx 4 msg. This is amazng!

Published in Credit & Car Finance December 2002

SMS – we know and use it as Texting from our mobile phones. “THX 4 INVITE, B THER 7.30” – goodness knows what it is doing for the spelling of the next generation but remains an excellent means of communication. It is the Short Message Service (SMS), and has defined and strictly mandated features within the GSM digital mobile phone standard.

A single short message can be up to 160 characters of text in length. Those 160 characters can comprise of words or numbers or an alphanumeric combination. Non-text based short messages (for example, in binary format) are also supported. The Short Message Service is a store and forward service, in other words, short messages are not sent directly from sender to recipient, but always via an SMS Centre instead. Each mobile telephone network that supports SMS has one or more messaging centres to handle and manage the short messages.

Messages may be sent and received simultaneously with GSM voice, Data and Fax calls. This is possible because whereas voice, Data and Fax calls take over a dedicated radio channel for the duration of the call, short messages travel over and above the radio channel using the signalling path. As such, users of SMS rarely if ever get a busy or engaged signal as they can do during peak network usage times.

Now mobile wireless technology, and in particular texting, is being put to better use in a variety of business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) applications.

Mobile telephones are sophisticated digital devices and a high percentage of most target markets will own and use one. There is a considerable investment being made in SMS technology and the business applications are still in their infancy – this is going to be another technology revolution.

Mobile phones are capable of connecting to computer systems and this provides an interface between business and customer. Customer service, marketing, consumer price checking or goods ordering, these are just the beginnings. We market a banking system that provides customer access via SMS with all the rigid security controls one would expect from a bank. We can also provide vehicle details from a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) entry sent by a service subscriber via SMS with a sub-2 second response.

Early days, but what a privilege to be involved in this technology so early in its development.

Juliet Allen
Director
APAK Group plc