GSM modem or IP SMS connectivity
Ozeki NG SMS Gateway is a powerful software
to provide
SMS functionality to your PC as it is able to transmit messages from a
computer to a mobile phone and vice versa. To achieve this functionality
you can use GSM device or IP SMS connectivity. In this overview you can
learn the basic concepts of these connection types to help you compare them
and choose the most suitable one.
Wireless connection
To send and receive SMS messages you can use wireless
connection such as a GSM modem or GSM phone attached to your PC with a
phone-to-PC data cable (Figure 1). This GSM device comes with a SIM card
which makes it possible to connect to the GSM network. The main advantage
of this type of connection is the fact that you can setup it easily. You
just need to buy a modem or phone from any of the GSM service providers.
The maintenance costs are low as there is no regular monthly fee. Though
you can transmit about 10 SMS per minute you can increase its capacity by
using more than one modem. With this set up you need a device such as Ozeki
NG SMS Gateway to be connected to the modem to communicate with the mobile
network and makes SMS sending and receiving possible in this way. Ozeki NG
SMS Gateway can be connected to your computer either of the following
possibilities: RS 232 Data Cable, USB cable, BlueTooth (BT) or Infrared (IR).
It works in the following way: If a message is sent out by
Ozeki NG SMS Gateway from your computer it is directed to the GSM device
attached to your PC which transmits the outgoing message to the SMSC
(SMS Center). From here it is forwarded through a wireless link to the
recipient.
In case of incoming messages the process is the following:
the incoming message is stored in the GSM device's memory or on the SIM card
and a notification is sent to Ozeki NG SMS Gateway about this message.
After the gateway gets this notification it reads the message from the
memory cell and deletes it to make place for further messages.
Figure 1. - Wireless GSM connection
Benefits
If you do not want to operate with large amounts of SMS
messages this is the most suitable solution for you. It is easy to setup
and work with and no extra devices are needed. This system is able to
operate even if there is no internet connection. This fact ensures that
with the configuration of this connection you will gain a reliable and
well-functioning system. Furthermore, if you do not satisfied with the
capacity it can be increased by using more than one GSM device simultaneously.
IP SMS connection
This type of connection makes it possible to connect to the
SMSC of a GSM service provider over the Internet or a leased line using
TCP/IP (Figure 2). The SMSC receives, stores, and delivers SMS messages in a
GSM network so it has advantages to connect to it directly. The most obvious
one is the fact that you can operate with a large number of SMS messages
in a short time as
this connection has a better bandwidth (10 000 SMS/minute) than GSM modem
connection. To send and receive SMS messages through this connection an IP
SMS protocol is needed: e.g.: SMPP, CIMD2, UCP/EMI. Of course, they are
supported by Ozeki NG SMS Gateway. You also need a contract with your
service provider to get direct access to their SMSC. By signing such a
contract you will be given their IP address, a port number, a username and a
password.
Figure 2. - IP SMS connection
Benefits
As it was mentioned above with IP SMS connection you will be
able to send and receive thousands of SMS messages per minutes improving
communication flowing within and outside of your company. As you are
connected to a GSM service provider's SMSC you can modify the phone number of
the sender any time if it is required. Moreover, the availability of the
service can be easily monitored. It is cheaper, faster and more reliable than
GSM modem connectivity in case of transmitting a huge number of SMS messages.
Please note that we recommend you to start building
your system with wireless GSM connection and if it is required you can still
switch to IP SMS connection to increase capacity.
Further readings:
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