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mobilesmssms-gatewaykannel

Mobile Development with SMS Gateway - Missing something?

I have an idea for a mobile service based project. I have read some stuff online, including the following tutorial: SMS Tutorial and find it to be pretty helpful but I have some basic questions so please bear with me.

I run a small (as in me and a friend) company and want to setup a situation where people can text a number and receive information back, or setup on my website that they receive text messages letting them know its time to do something, or "tech support" can text them if they wish, etc.

So from what I've gathered, I can use Kannel as my "SMS gateway" interacting with a GSM Modem that I can purchase. For this modem I can buy a texting plan SIM. I can then setup Kannel to use my GSM modem as a virtual smsc. So, users can text that SIMs phone number, which will go to the modem and be interpreted by Kannel. My application will only have to interact with Kannel. And in the future, if I decide I need more texting throuput and upgrade to a real SMSC my application does not need to change.

Is there anything I'm missing/misunderstanding?

Thanks!

Solution

  • Using Kannel as a SMS gateway is a good option for a small company. It does come with a lot of headaches as you have to build, configure, maintain, etc.. all of the services you need, This is what everyone is referring to as "A lot of work".

    What you are looking to do is use the GSM modem as a Long Code (verses short Code) for text messaging.

    I think this is an expectable solution for something small and where service, latency and availability might not be as important if it's for a local region. But if this is something that needs to be reliable I would think about getting a short code (or sharing a short code) or just a SMS Messaging service with No Long/Short Code (See Twilio Below).

    Also if you're trying to rollout your own service there are some things to consider with the SMSC's. If your Kannel/GSM Modem doesn't support the Carrier, you would have to reach out to that Carrier and connect to thier SMSC. This is a hefty price to connect to a Carrier. This is way Aggregators are appealing as they Have all the Carrier connections and pay those fees.

    As you transitioning from Kannel to a Gateway Service Provider, that's another headache as you would need to start from scratch and use whatever the service provider API is and replace the Kannel/GSM altogether. Your workflow might be the same but how you send and receive messages with differ greatly. Most (if not all) Aggregators will offer there own version of a SDK/API/Service that you would need to comply with to use their service.

    If it's in the US there are some other options you might consider:

    • Twilio, this is the simplest solution I've seem for smaller companies looking for SMS functionality. Now they are currently offering SMS Short Codes by trial but if you need a short code I would go with a true messaging aggregator.
    • Zeep Mobile Offers a free SMS service with a Short Code, but they do send Ads with all your SMS Messages. This is a great way to subsidize costs if the Ads don't bother you. Not sure if you can pick the types of ads you want but it's another option for a service.
    • Clickatell offers a service where you can Share a Short Code and use Keywords to filter your SMS traffic to your account. This is another way to cut some costs if you're funds and traffic (how much SMS you send and receive) are limited
    • OpenMarket offers a full service SMS/MMS global platform, this is who you want if you doing Mass amounts of trafic and/or need to reach globally.

    Note: These are just a few services as there are many, many more

    There are also some caveats with having a Short Code as you will need to register a new Short Code if the country you are services needs it's own Short Code. Example: you can use your US Short Code to service Canada, You would also need a Canadian Short Code as well. This can get costly if your only doing small amounts of traffic.