{"id":6825,"date":"2024-03-27T20:36:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T20:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/au\/?post_type=blog&p=6825"},"modified":"2025-09-11T21:11:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T21:11:30","slug":"messaging-101-what-is-sms","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/au\/blog\/messaging-101-what-is-sms\/","title":{"rendered":"What is SMS, and how does it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is SMS? What\u2019s the difference between SMS, MMS, and RCS? And is SMS still relevant? In this overview, we\u2019ll share an SMS definition, how it works, use cases, and frequently asked questions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMS has been around for 32 years, since Neil Papworth, an engineer for the Sema Group sent out the very first SMS message on December 3 in 1992. Since that very first text, saying \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d, SMS has remained a key way to communicate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Forbes, people send 23 billion text messages each day. That\u2019s 270,000 messages every second. Businesses have also seen a steady growth in revenue through SMS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this goes to show that SMS communication is still going strong. And honestly, do we even need texting statistics to know how often – and how quickly – we engage with SMS on our phones? The answer is very often, and very quickly. That said, let\u2019s explore what SMS is all about and how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is SMS?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SMS, also commonly known as text messaging, stands for short messaging service. The SMS protocol allows sending text messages of up to 160 characters<\/strong> between mobile phones and is a top texting method because it works with almost any mobile device, all around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DID YOU KNOW: SMS messages use communication protocols that were standardized in 1985 by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). In the GSM system, an SMS message is limited to 160 characters. Learn more about GSM character types and message lengths<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When adding special characters or emojis, the character limit drops to 70. Similarly, in some languages like Japanese or Arabic that don\u2019t use the classic GSM 7-bit character set-up, but UTF-16, the maximum number of characters is 70.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMS also supports multimedia messaging service (MMS<\/a>) for sending multimedia files like images, audio clips or low-resolution videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do SMS messages work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you, as a regular person, send an SMS to your mate, it doesn’t just magically appear on your recipient’s phone. That SMS will go through your mobile phone network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you’re a business, the process is slightly different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business SMS get sent through a gateway or SMS provider like Sinch MessageMedia<\/a>, which allows you to send large volumes of messages out to customers in a secure, compliant, and reliable way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending messages between private users<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what happens (in very simple terms) when you type out a message to a friend on your phone. When you hit \u2018send\u2019, your mobile phone carrier uses the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) to convert the message and the recipient\u2019s mobile phone number into data sent to the nearest mobile phone tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, it\u2019s routed to the tower closest to the recipient, where the data lands on your friend\u2019s phone, unscrambled as your message.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"What
Sending SMS between private users.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sending SMS as a business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the carrier network works well for single messages, it\u2019s not as effective for businesses that want to send out bulk SMS messages to all their customers.\u00a0Enter the SMS gateway.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gateway technology solves the challenge of sending messages out to thousands of customers in one go, quickly and reliably. A gateway is an online platform or engine that can rapidly intake and direct huge volumes of SMS in a short amount of time \u2013 making it ideal for businesses that send bulk SMS<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"What
Sending SMS as a business.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For example, Sinch MessageMedia\u2019s gateway can process over 10,000 events per second and deliver 95% of messages within two seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n

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\r\n Get more out of text messaging <\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Start a 14-day free trial with Sinch MessageMedia and take your business SMS to the next level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n Start messaging now<\/a> <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n
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