[VoiceOps] SMS gateway API.

[Alex Balashov]

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply.

I think I've pretty much ruled out using SMS to accomplish what I was 
looking to accomplish simply because there's no way the costs would 
scale appropriately to the task.

I was wanting to get a high-volume stream of updates from a mobile 
device (non-phone) that moves and does not always operate in areas of 
the US where anything but basic digital coverage is available - and 
certainly not 3G.

But if - even granted a large up-front investment in a shortcode - there 
is an operating cost of at least several hundred dollars a day, there's 
just no way that's going to work.

Personally, I think SMS is just a pointless waste of money and time. 
It's far too much of a profit center to try to do anything serious with 
it.  It's designed to maximise billing to parents of teenagers, not to 
be used as a transport layer for any sort of serious application.  If 
one wants to backhaul real-time and/or high-frequency data from devices 
in the field, unlimited data is more or less the way to do it.  The 
stakeholders I was talking to were just interested in a "hack" because 
they faced the unique problem of not being able to count on any sort of 
EDGE or 3G coverage.

Thanks,

-- 
Alex Balashov
Evariste Systems
Web    : http://www.evaristesys.com/
Tel    : (+1) (678) 954-0670
Direct : (+1) (678) 954-0671
Mobile : (+1) (678) 237-1775