To become a professional in any field, it is important to have basic knowledge of the direction. Terminology is part of such knowledge. Its knowledge allows you to quickly navigate the task and communicate with colleagues.
Since we are working in the field of SMS business, terminology is important for us from here. Therefore, we decided to share with you the basic terms of the SMS industry.
A2P Messages
Application-to-person messages. This is a type of message that is sent from an application, website or platform to a subscriber’s mobile device. This is the name of all messages that were not sent from a mobile device with a SIM card.
P2P Messages
Person-to-person messages. This is the type of messages that were sent from one mobile device user to another user.
SMSC
The short message service center is the center responsible for the operation of the short message service of the mobile network. It stores, transmits, converts and delivers SMS.
DLR
Delivery report is an attribute of each sent SMS MT message, coming directly from the subscriber’s phone, which reports the status of the sent SMS, whether it was delivered or not.
SMPP
Short message peer-to-peer is a protocol that allows you to exchange SMS messages between SMS centers. It is a standard and describes the interaction of the end client with the SMS server.
API
Application programming interface is a protocol that describes the ways of interaction between computer programs, an intermediary that sets the rules for interaction.
REST API
The Representational State Transfer Application programming interface is a protocol that acts like an API, only more secure. The REST API uses HTTP requests to get, retrieve, post, and delete data.
SMS queue
This is a live queue of all SMS that pass through one gateway to be sent to the provider or directly to the customer.
2-Way SMS Messaging
This is a type of SMS mailing, which includes outgoing (Mobile Terminated or MT) and incoming (Mobile Originated or MO) SMS. This means that the user of the mobile device can respond to the SMS sent by the business.
MNO
A mobile network operator is a company that provides cellular services to network users.
MVNO
A mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides cellular services to network users based on the infrastructure of another network operator.
SMS aggregator
It is an intermediary between companies that want to interact with mobile network users and mobile network operators.
TPS
Transactions per second – the number of transactions that can be performed per second. In the SMS sphere, this is the number of SMS that the provider can receive per second.
Long code
These are long sender numbers that are used to send SMS messages. Often, these are standard phone numbers in international format. It can be in the range of 6 to 16 digits.
Short code
These are short sender numbers that are used to send SMS messages. They are provided by the operator.
Single SMS
Single SMS sent outside of Bulk SMS.
Bulk SMS
Bulk SMS mailings, which are used to send a large number of SMS to mobile network users in a relatively short period of time, a few minutes.
MO SMS
Mobile Originated SMS – An SMS message sent from a network user’s mobile device to the same device or application.
MT SMS
Mobile Terminated SMS is an SMS message that is sent from a client or application to a mobile network user’s mobile device.
HLR lookup
This is the process of checking the activity of the network operator’s user’s mobile number, which occurs by sending a request to this number. The query response determines whether the number is active or not.
MNP lookup
This is the process of checking if a phone number exists in the database of ported mobile phones to another network operator.
2FA
Two-factor authentication is a method of verifying the identity of a user, which is carried out through two different verification methods.
MCC
Mobile Country Code is a code that is used in various mobile networks and which determines the country of the user of the mobile network.
MNC
Mobile Network Code – a code that is used in various mobile networks and which identifies the operator of the mobile network user.
Whitelabel SMS platform
An SMS platform that is for rent or for purchase, without any branding of the developer company.
HTTP
HyperText Transfer Protocol is an application layer protocol that is used to transfer arbitrary data.
Opt in
This is a term used to refer to a marketing tool that asks a customer or subscriber for permission to subscribe to a newsletter.
Opt out
This is a term used to refer to a marketing tool that allows subscribers to unsubscribe from a mailing list.
Concierge service
A term in the SMS business that refers to a turnkey SMS messaging service. Managers make mailings for the client to his base.
GSM
Groupe Special Mobile, later renamed Global System for Mobile Communications. Global digital standard for mobile communications with time and frequency channel division.
Trigger SMS
SMS messages, the sending of which is caused by the client’s action on the site or application.
RCS technology
Rich Communication Services is a protocol for the transfer of short messages between mobile cellular subscribers, which replaced the outdated data transfer protocol.
Sender ID
Это то имя, от которого пользователь получает СМС.
Alphanumeric Sender ID
This is the name of the sender of the SMS message, which consists of numbers and letters. Its length cannot exceed 11 characters.
Alpha Sender ID
This is the name of the sender of the SMS message, which consists only of letters. Its length cannot exceed 11 characters.
Numeric SenderID
This is the name of the sender of the SMS message, which consists exclusively of numbers. Its length can be from 3 to 16 characters.
P2A
Person-to-application or from user to application. An SMS message that was sent by a cellular network user from a mobile device to an application.
SS7
Signaling System No. 7 is a set of telephone signaling protocols used to set up most telephone exchanges around the world based on Time Division Networks.
GSM7
This is an encoding standard with which you can send any text in an SMS message containing only Latin characters, Arabic numerals and a few special characters.
Unicode
This is an encoding standard with which you can send any text in an SMS message. This encoding contains almost all characters of all languages of the world.
OTP SMS
One-time Password SMS is a temporary PIN code that is sent via SMS and is valid only once for a short period of time.
Transactional SMS
These are SMS that come automatically and are caused by the action of the client when purchasing a product or service.
Message log
This is a process that records information about each message in real time. It includes a period filter (month, year, day), a routing filter (gateway, operator, country, etc.), a content filter (message id, sender, text), and an options filter. This is the first step you should take if there is a problem with your SMS traffic.
SMS Gateway
This is a gateway, software that allows you to send SMS without a mobile device, directly through the program interface.
These are the basic terms that will help you quickly navigate the field and take the first steps towards completing the task.
