How To Setup An SMS Gateway
One of the problems with short messaging services is the numerous communication protocols used by different companies. Many of these SMSCs are exclusively used by specific companies. Nokia uses the CIMD, while another company may use a totally different protocol. Two SMSCs cannot be connected if the communication protocols are not the same. To solve this problem an SMS gateway is used to communicate with two SMSCs. SMS gateways will transfer one communication protocol into another.
SMS gateways allow different carriers to attach their SMSCs together so that SMS messages can be exchanged. While these systems are primarily used by wireless carriers, other companies may find uses for them as well. If you are the creator of a SMS text program, one way for sending and receiving messages from your server is to attach the SMSCs to the wireless carrier. If these carriers use different SMSCs, your program will need to support numerous protocols. Because of this, the time it takes to design the program is longer, and once it is completed it will be very complex.
To handle this issue, an SMS gateway can be setup to process the connections to all of the SMSCs. This way, instead of the text messaging program having to be configured to connect to multiple SMSCs with different protocols, all it needs is to connect to one SMS gateway. This makes things much more simple and efficient. You don't have to go and make any changes in the code used with your text messaging software. All you have to do is modify the settings in the SMS gateway.
Do ing this can reduce the time needed to create a text messaging program. To connect to a SMS gateway you will need to use either a SMPP or CIMD. Many SMS gateways also can connect through a HTTP or HTTPS system. The latter are easier to use. The only problem is that there won't be many short messaging features. In addition to connecting to the SMSC through a wireless carrier, there are a few other methods you could use. One way to send and receive short messages via a computer is to use the modem of a GSM cell phone.
To do this trick your text messaging program will need to be able to communicate with the mobile phone modem using AT commands.Some SMS gatways are also able to connect to modems, but your text messaging program will have to be able to communicate with it. It doesn't have to recognize AT commands. It is easy to see why SMS gateways are so important in allowing you to communicate. Programs like this are complex and tend to be very expensive.
The good news is that there are many open source SMS gateway programs which are freely available. They can be downloaded from the internet. One such software is called Kannel. It is written in the C programming language, and is known for its high level of quality. It can connect to cell phones, GSM modems, and SMSCs. It also supports HTTP and HTTPS.