The Now SMS & MMS Gateway requires a connection to an SMSC (Short Messaging Service Centre) to interface with SMS and MMS networks. An SMSC connection can consist of one or more of the following:
GSM Modem – A GSM modem or phone connected to a PC serial port, USB port, or Bluetooth connection with an appropriate modem driver.
Android Phone – An Android phone connected to WiFi and running one of the following Android versions: Gingerbread (2.3), Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0 or 4.1), Jelly Bean (4.2 or 4.3), Kit Kat (4.4), Lollipop (5.0 or 5.1).
SMPP (Short Message Peer to Peer Protocol) – A TCP/IP connection over the internet or a private network to a service that supports v3.3 or v3.4 of the SMPP protocol. (Note that the Now SMS & MMS Gateway also includes an SMPP server, which allows you to chain multiple gateways together.)
UCP/EMI (Universal Computer Protocol / External Machine Interface) – A TCP/IP connection over the internet or a private network to a service that supports v3.5 or higher of the UCP/EMI protocol. UCP/EMI is primarily implemented by CMG SMSCs.
CIMD2 (Computer Interface to Message Distribution, version 2) – A TCP/IP connection over the internet to a service that supports the CIMD2 protocol. CIMD2 is implemented by Nokia SMSCs.
HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol, e.g., the standard protocol for the “web”) – A TCP/IP connection over the internet or private network to a service that accepts SMS messages via an HTTP “GET” based protocol.
After an SMSC connection has been defined to NowSMS, please refer to the following sections for further discussion: