[VoiceOps] SMS gateway API.

[John Todd]

I'd agree with you on all counts.

Store-and-forward technology like SMS is wedged firmly in the jaws of  
the incumbents, as they control the signaling path, device parameters,  
and application gateways.  Dead end.

IP is a far better method for real-time, though SMS does have a higher  
reliability for more "sketchy" geography or coverage areas, by nature  
of its store-and-forward abilities.  One must consider the usefulness  
of a large belch of store-and-forward messages upon coverage  
restoration, so even this becomes less useful as your edge cases get  
more grey.

JT

On Aug 9, 2009, at 8:44 PM, Alex Balashov wrote:

> 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
>