How
SMS Works
by: Jim Sherman
SMS, or Short Message Service,
is the technology behind what we often refer to as 'text messages' or
'SMSes', as well as what allows for news alerts on cellular phones.
In recent years SMS has ballooned to over a 50 billion dollar industry
and is quickly taking the communications world by storm.
Short Message Service actually
refers to a framework that uniquely allows computers, or in this case
phones, to communicate with each other without the need of a central
hub. With SMS, phones can find each other, send short packets of information
back and forth, and do it all without any central computer to guide
them. But because the system does not rely upon fixed lines like a land
based telephone system does, the amount of information that can be sent
at one time is limited in size. This depends on the language spoken,
but for English letters this typically means around 150 characters (Chinese
and Japanese letters are limited to 70).
Quite recently, however,
new developments in the technology have allowed for even longer messages
to be sent. Long or Concatenated SMS is a development that allows multiple
messages to be combined to form a single message. In effect, what happens
is that your phone actually sends out a few smaller messages and then
the receiving phone simply compiles those messages so that for users
on both ends, it appears as though the message were cohesive. While
there are some limitations, the brilliance behind SMS is that because
there is no need for central hubs, and thus the system can be expanded
indefinitely without any concerns of it slowing down or becoming more
expensive.
The most common form of SMS
is 'texting'. This usually takes place with a cellular phone in which
individuals use the letters behind the number pad on their phone to
spell out words and phrases and then send them out. Because many companies
charge by the word, individuals have come up with a sort of 'texting
slang' to cut down on the amount of words required to convey a particular
message. For example, 'gr8' and 'BTW' mean 'great' and 'by the way'.
In addition, other words have just been shortened, such as 'lata' to
mean 'later'. Most users simply pick up the lingo through frequent use,
and although some slang is widely understood and used, other shortcuts
are developed within circles of friends and family.
The major advantage of SMS
is its price. The price is typically $0.05 per message, a significant
cut below that of traditional telephony and cell phone per-minute charges.
The savings of SMS has its roots in the nature of the technology. Short
Message Service, like SIP, is modeled on a peer to peer model and not
a cog and wheel like traditional communication systems. This means that
instead of having to route a message through a central hub, your text
goes straight from you to its destination. This has radically cut down
on the cost of SMS implementation and led to its overwhelming popularity
throughout the world.
Short Message Service (SMS)
has radically changed the face of the communications industry. While
the practice has become quite common throughout the world, it has only
recently become popular here in the United Stats, a growth partly predicated
upon, surprisingly enough, its featured role in the show American Idol.
The fact that 'texting' is quickly gaining both in popularity and recognition
in the United States is not surprising however, due to its ability to
offer users a cheap, quick, and often fun way to communicate with friends
and family.
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