SMS - Short Message Service: SMS - Short Message Service

The Short Message Service (SMS) is the ability to send and receive text messages to and from mobile telephones. The text can comprise of words or numbers or an alphanumeric combination. SMS was created as part of the GSM Phase 1 standard. The first short message is believed to have been sent in December 1992 from a Personal Computer (PC) to a mobile phone on the Vodafone GSM network in the UK. Each short message is up to 160 characters is length when Latin alphabets are used, and 70 characters in length when non-Latin alphabets such as Arabic and Chinese are used.

The Future of SMS- Introducing the Long Message Service.
It is a valid question to ask whether the Short Message Service (SMS) has a prosperous future ahead of it given that GSM is evolving to encompass high-speed packet data services such as GSM Packet Radio Service (GPRS) (See www.mobileGPRS.com).

GSM SMS has several unique features that can be summarized as message storage if the recipient is not available, confirmation of short message delivery to the sender and simultaneous transmission with GSM voice, data and fax services. Importantly, these features will NOT be incorporated into other planned GSM services such as GPRS. However, SMS does have some disadvantages-primarily the limited message length of 160 characters.
SMS as we know it will be used through to the year 2005 at least, since the mobile phones, infrastructure, specifications, market development and awareness are in place today. Over time, as users connect to networks that offer more advanced data services and buy mobile terminals that support them, they will find it more convenient to receive all their CHOSEN emails rather than only a notification by SMS. They will continue to use SMS for some applications- the underlying bearer will be mixed and matched according to the application and its importance to the user. SMS could be used automatically when roaming for example due to the advantages of store and forward when in a different time zone. Non-urgent emails could be sent by SMS for users to decide whether to forward the entire message. Urgent emails get sent immediately using packet data. By supporting multiple standards and bearer services, the Wireless Application Protocol anticipates this multiple service world. Essentially, in 3GSM, SMS will not be a standalone service but part of multimedia messaging. Different applications will use different bearer services- bearers will be mixed and matched depending on characteristics of application and mobile environment.