| Carrier grade? |  Search
|
|
NowSMS Support Forums ⬆ NowSMS Support - SMS Issues ⬆ Archive through September 15, 2003 ⬆ |
◄ ► |
| Author | Message | |||
| Anonymous |
Nice product, but I was wondering if the product could be used in a carrier environment. Is there anything planned to support MM3 to MM7? MM3 External apps (ESME's) MM4 Olo MMSC's via SMTP MM5 MNP connection to HLR (imsi lookup) MM6 conn. to User database with profiles MM7 VAS services and billing options via MT SMS and bulk provisioning? Are there any reporting options? | |||
| Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support (Bryce) |
Hi, We actually do have several small to medium sized carriers using the product. We're under NDA, so I can't disclose any customer names. We're currently in the process of implementing MM4 and MM7, and will be posting a beta release to the web site shortly. The next release will focus a lot of attention on VASP interfaces, allowing VASPs to connect in via MM1, EAIF (Nokia's MM1-like interface), MM4 and MM7. The system will also be able to route messages externally via those protocols. (MM4 isn't really designed to be a VASP interface, but for a lot of external applications it is easier to interface via an SMTP-based protocol, so we're opening that up to VASPs as well as interconnection.) There's quite a bit going into the next release, so we're going to post it out here to help shake out the issues. Regarding MM3, its definition is too vague to really be considered a protocol. If you're going to interface with an external server, that external server is probably going to interface via MM7, unless it needs more exchange capabilities in which case MM4 might be more appropriate. We don't see anything specific to MM3 that needs to be implemented on the product side, although we are open to suggestions. Regarding MM5, we're currently using SMS as the notification bearer, so it's not used in that implementation. At this point, we're waiting for the specs to evolve, but if you have needs for it, then we should discuss. (Feel free to e-mail nowsms@now.co.uk to start a technical dialog.) MM6 is also outside the scope of the current MMS specs. We're looking at some options for hooking into LDAP databases in the future, but we're also waiting for the specs to evolve. I think the bottom line is that VASP interfaces are the #1 priority. VASP interfaces are the weakest part of other MMSC implementations, and we envision scenarios where operators will deploy multiple MMSCs. Their existing MMSCs will primarily be used for user-to-user MMS messaging, but additional MMSCs will be added for VASPs. MM4 is also extremely important, but we do need to see some standarisation on routing definitions. Regarding billing options ... our preferred interface is HTTP based. You can configure an HTTP URL that the gateway connects to before and after sending messages. The "before" is for authorisation purposes, and the "after" is for recording a charge on the account. The interface is designed to be simple so that you can connect it into an accounting system of your choice. Provisioning can be accomplished via HTTP requests, or accounts can be automatically provisioned as they make their initial connection to the MMSC. (There are a couple of documents at http://www.nowsms.com/tb that talk about this.) Reporting options are somewhat limited, but there are logs that contain all relevant information, which can be parsed for further detail. If there's more information that you'd like in that area, let us know. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. To open a technical dialog directly, you can e-mail me at nowsms@now.co.uk. -bn | |||
