SMS has been around since the mass uptake of mobile phones enabling users to communicate short messages to anyone with a device that is capable of receiving them.
During the early days of mass mobile communications, SMS texting was the primary means through which many people communicated, as they used voice services less and had not yet made the shift towards social media. Despite the simplicity of SMS messaging, its transformative impact cannot be underestimated.
Now, SMS can look and feel a little dated, but that doesn’t mean its time is over. In fact, despite the range of messaging options now available, SMS remains the market leader when it comes to messaging.
The role of SMS is continuing to grow and develop. It is the only channel through which you can reach more than 5 billion people with mobile devices around the world. And now, it’s increasingly being used in conjunction with the growing number of IoT services.
The 5G Moment
SMS is vital for a range of different services such as IoT, OTA, multi-factor authentication, and for continued communication with subscribers of legacy services.
Many operators have rolled out 5G RAN technology alongside 4G networks, providing hybrid or “non-standalone” 5G services with customers roaming between 3G, 4G and 5G. Such networks can continue to support SMS via IMS or via diameter-based fallback mechanisms to 3G or 4G.
Other operators, however, plan to offer pure “stand-alone” 5G networks where all elements of the RAN and Core are 5G. Many of these are intended as private 5G networks for the use of enterprises who require 5G data for the management of their plant and machinery.
To facilitate SMS services (for instance for OTA programming of manufacturing robots) the stand-alone 5G network, however, must include a special node called the Short Message Service Function (SMSF).
Any operator moving towards a ‘stand-alone’ 5G network, or with network slices that are dedicated to certain customers, will require SMSF from day one.
The Enghouse Networks Solution
Enghouse Networks SMSF will ensure that you are able to provide continuity when it comes to the provision of SMS services. It will also open up further SMS driven revenue opportunities.
Our solution supports both MAP/SS7 and the Diameter SGd interfaces for receipt of SMS. It can accept messages from SMS servers (SMSCs, SMS Routers, IP-SM-GWs) via either interface.
It can also support sending SMS via both MAP and SGd interfaces.
If a network operator decides to no longer use MAP/SS7 in their network, they can use the Enghouse SMSC to send SMS to 3G, 4G (LTE), IMS and 5G networks.
You can find out more about Enghouse Networks SMSF solution, how it works and its features by downloading our detailed product overview: SMSF for 5G Networks
