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NowSMS Support Forums ⬆ NowSMS Support - SMS Issues ⬆ Archive through January 23, 2007 ⬆ |
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| Author | Message | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2006 |
Hey Bryce and everyone. I am VERY interested in trying to get NOWSMS working with a GSM Modem in the US and wanted to know if anyone can recommend a modem and a carrier for sending but more importantly Receiving SMS messages. I've spent the last 2hrs reading the forums and seem to think that the MC35 is the way to go. But can I use that in the US? Just curious. I have an available Moto MPX220 that I can use to start but I've read that there have been problems with the Moto devices as modems. Would this possibly work? What cable would I need to try? I'm very new to this so please bear with me. Any information would be really appreciated! Thanks Dave ><> | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2006 |
I should mention that we are really only looking to receive text SMS messages (and send possibly too) at this point with no real plans for any need for MMS or WAP PUSH. Also, I'm not sure I totally understand this well. Is it possible to use a carrier SIM card and send and receive to other US carriers besides the SIM carrier? Thanks again. Dave ><> | |||
| Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support Board Administrator Username: Bryce Post Number: 6191 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hi Dave, The Siemens MC35 isn't available for US frequencies. The Multitech GPRS modems are available for US frequencies, and that's the top choice for dedicated GSM modem devices. I just posted some additional updated modem comments in reply to another posting, which might help you out somewhat: http://support.nowsms.com/discus/messages/1/16398.html Motorola phones are ok as modems, but they can only do text messages (up to 160 characters, no long text messages). However, that said, the MPX220 is a Windows mobile device ... and my experience has been that I have yet to see a Windows mobile device that supports the GSM modem interface for sending/receiving SMS.
For a carrier, I'd go with either T-Mobile or Cingular, as they are GSM based. You can still send/receive text messages with other operators, but you are going through the SMS interconnect between those operators. Basically, sending an SMS with a modem works the same way as if you were sending an SMS with a phone. The phone or modem submits the SMS message to one of the operator SMSCs associated with the SIM card subscription ... and the operator SMSC then has interconnects to route messages to subscribers of other carriers. So if you can send an SMS from a phone with one carrier's SIM card to another, then the same would apply with a modem. My understanding is that SMS interconnectivity in the US is pretty good right now, so I don't think the operator choice makes that much difference. I think that MMS interconnectivity is not quite as well established yet. I believe that Cingular has more MMS interconnections with smaller regional players than T-Mobile does. But this information could be outdated. In the past I've seen that more people tended toward T-Mobile because of rate plan issues ... but I think there have been changes in the past year that may have erased any significant differences. -bn | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 3 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks for all the great information Bryce. This really helps me out a lot! I still am unsure of a few things however. If we wanted to get a T-Mobile or Cingular Calling plan with unlimited text messaging.... in your experience, is there a number of SMS messages being sent this way that will draw attention to us by the carrier (I assume they will not want us running a small business this way...but if we can stay under their radar we'll be fine) We honestly don't plan on really high throughput in the beginning, but it would be good to know. I guess I'll steer clear of the MOTO if you think it will be problematic. The Multitech is resonably priced. I see this one on Buy.com GSM/GPRS CLASS 10 850/1900MHZ MTCBA-G-F2-NAM Regarding SIM cards. Do the carriers sell them individually without a phone (aside from the prepaid ones)? I really appreciate all the help Dave Fischetti | |||
| Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support Board Administrator Username: Bryce Post Number: 6200 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hi Dave, Unlimited doesn't always mean unlimited in the mobile world. I see you asked about service plans over in another thread. So I'll leave the discussion to over there. Thanks for the BUY.COM tip ... people are always asking for a good source for these modems ... and indeed that price looks great. 850 and 1900 are the US bands (1900 is more common) ... so that's the right modem. -bn | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 7 Registered: 07-2006 |
CDW also has the modem. I prefer CDW customer service over Buy.com. Its worth the extra few bucks. http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/specs.aspx?EDC=635046 | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 8 Registered: 07-2006 |
CDW also has the modem. I prefer CDW customer service over Buy.com. Its worth the extra few bucks. http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/specs.aspx?EDC=635046 | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 10 Registered: 07-2006 |
Re: data plan vs phone plan Ahhhhh. Ok. so the external modem doesnt have to use a data plan to send/receive SMS. It can be a regular phone plan as well. ... I guess I just assumed that since it was a modem that it had to operate as a data plan. That seems like it is not the case. Is that right? It can run as a phone plan within the modem. Can I ask what you were saying in the link below about a special account. Is this something different than what I am doing. http://support.nowsms.com/discus/messages/485/9343.html Thanks for all the great info. | |||
| Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support Board Administrator Username: Bryce Post Number: 6205 Registered: 10-2002 |
Thanks for the additional link. I'm glad to see the modems in conventional distribution ... as they have been in more specialised distribution channels in the past. A voice plan is fine, and usually preferable, because messaging capabilities are typically bundled with voice plans ... while data plans (with some exceptions for specific devices) are focused on internet access. Sending/receiving SMS doesn't actually use any GPRS data in the context of a data plan. Sending/receiving MMS does use GPRS data, but in most situations it is metered/billed differently from GPRS data in that it is metered/billed as part of a messaging plan add-on, not as GPRS data in the context of a data plan. The link you reference ... well, let me preface it by saying that this sounds like it was posted by a home PC user who wanted to send MMS messages over the internet. When they refer to service provider, they were likely referring to "internet service provider". We get those questions a lot, and I just try to be polite and give some basic pointers. Also keep in mind that they wanted to send MMS messages. (Similar issues exist with SMS, but the cost is much higher with MMS ... not to mention the fact that it is difficult to find a provider.) In order to send any SMS or MMS messages, you either need a GSM modem (GSM/GPRS for MMS) ... or you need a connection to a messaging service provider. There are a lot of SMS service providers ... SimpleWire, mBlox, Mobile365, and Clickatell are a few of the bigger ones. MMS, on the other hand, tends to be more complicated from the service provider side, and at this time usually requires going directly to a mobile operator. (For SMS, it usually makes more sense to go to one of these independent aggregators than to go to a mobile operator.) | |||
| Dave F New member Username: Fishnyc22 Post Number: 11 Registered: 07-2006 |
This is all great infomation thanks again for taking the time to post all this. Sorry for the double posts. the form resubmitted when I was backing though my browser history. Thanks again Dave | |||
| Carl Youngblood New member Username: Cayblood Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2006 |
I can't tell you how helpful this information is, Bruce. I just happened upon this thread after searching for a long time on how best to roll out a ringtone delivery system for the US. It looks like Mobile365 may have an MMS delivery system now, but I'm not sure how good it is: http://www.mobile365.com/wp/global_mms_interoperability.pdf If you know anything more about this, I would appreciate any information you can provide. Also, you mentioned the option of using a GSM modem to deliver MMS messages. Is it possible to send an MMS message to another carrier's customer with this approach? Would it be possible, for example, to sign up for an unlimited messaging plan on one carrier, say, T-Mobile, and send ringtones to handsets all over the world this way? Also, what kind of interface/API does one use to communicate with a GSM modem like this one? Do they usually come with software? Is it designed for an end-user or a programmer? We would want to be able to send messages through some kind of API without having to perform any manual intervention. Thanks, Carl Youngblood | |||
