Customer-centric SMS services

The market dynamics impacting SMS usage see continued growth in subscribers that boost SMS volumes but bring down the price of sending one. So while users appear willing to spend more on SMS, operators must reduce the internal cost of sending these messages to keep their SMS margins from falling and to creae more revenues from the process overall.

One way is to complement the functionality provided by the traditional SMS center with the new technology and functionality of SMS routing.  In the past, the sending of SMS across any network has been inherently unreliable, requiring store and re-try/forward methodology, which had an acceptable success/failure rate, though one with room for improvement.

Now, with more reliable coverage, networks and always-on handsets, it is accepted that there is around an 80% chance that a message will be delivered first time. It is also time to introduce an SMS technology solution with greater capabilities than the traditional SMSC, enabling new SMS services to be deployed and maximize the value of SMS.

SMS core network router technology augments the legacy functions of existing SMSC technology. While it replaces that part of the SMSC responsible for more efficient message delivery, traditional store and re-try/forward functionality can be left to the legacy SMSC platform to maximize existing assets.  The technology offers a new layer that enables the operator to do much more than the traditional SMSC, which had previously not actually handled all the SMS terminating traffic on the network.

Capturing these terminating SMS messages, the SMS router technology enables introduction of new revenue-generating services such as personalization and also security solutions that will protect both the recipient and the network brand. With this technology, the operator can, for example, offer a messaging anti-malware security service or parental control for €3 per month.

The router enables operators to redefine their core network architecture supporting the SMS traffic, in a way disrupting the traditional SMSC model, which had previously looked at “how many” messages could be handled rather than the “different ways” in which this could be done.

For an operator, the benefits of an SMS core network router are an optimized SMS network architecture that delivers increased throughput, lower opex, and increased flexible and rule-based message control and decisions. It also provides a de facto new customer-centric SMS services capability that will ensure customer loyalty and significantly help drive ARPU upward.

For users, benefits include the facility to send and receive new time-sensitive services. They can also be reassured by opt-in spam/malware and unwanted content protection. Corporate users can also experience personalised SMS services matching the email-like experience.