Protocol implementation for Short Message Service over IP

Abstract

The Short Message Service (SMS) is one of the most successful services in existing cellular networks. The SMS provides a means of sending messages of limited size to and from Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) phones. SMS technology has evolved out of the GSM standard and presently, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) maintains the SMS standards. Because of its ease to use and cost effectiveness SMS has become one of the popular services in the mobile communication world. The main objective of this paper is to introduce a methodology to provide Short Message Service over Internet Protocol (SoIP) network, which is addressed to mobile or soft phone users connected over IP network. The proposed method is based on sending SMS directly to the Short Message Switching Centre (SMSC) using the Short Message Peer to Peer (SMPP) communication protocol over IP network. SMPP protocol design has been coded in Java/Microsoft Visual Basic and simulated in Android Mobile Simulator. The design is synthesized using Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with Android development plug-in. The results obtained are validated against design specifications. At present SoIP system is tested on Android mobile simulator and the work is underway in implementing the solution on Android mobile platform. Using this method, direct communication with SMSC, higher degree of message throughput and reduced cost per SMS can be achieved.