SMS goes truly global -- well, almost

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): By now, almost everybody probably knows about the short message service (SMS).

It is a new technology available through global system for mobile (GSM) communications mobile phones that apparently helped topple Joseph Estrada and pave the way for Gloria Arroyo- Macapagal's ascension to the presidency of The Philippines.

SMS messages are great because they are not as intrusive as making phone calls, yet comprehensive information can be conveyed in a single message.

While attending a meeting, for example, you can convey information such as addresses or telephone numbers to your colleague who is attending another meeting, without disturbing the meetings. This relieves you from the need to dictate or spell out the information that you want to pass on. The recipient of the message also reduces mistakes when jotting down messages.

It is more direct and concise than leaving messages in a voice mail box. Often times, it is even better than a direct phone call. Even my friend, who is rather techno-phobic, loves to send SMS messages ever since I showed him how to send his first SMS message.

SMS is a service for sending short alphanumeric (160 bytes or characters) messages. The service is bi-directional, meaning that recipients of an SMS message can reply to the sender through the same service. In addition, an acknowledgement of receipt is provided to the sender of the message.

The three GSM operators in Indonesia, Telkomsel, Satelindo, and Excelcom, have long provided SMS messaging services to their subscribers.

However, until recently, mobile phone users could only send SMS messages to subscribers of the same GSM operator that they were using. Telkomsel subscribers, for example, cannot send messages to Satelindo subscribers.

This severely limited those who depended on information and communication.

Hence, eNote and SMS Oke provided a service that allowed cross-operator SMS messaging. This service requires subscribers to register and purchase prepaid vouchers that are valid for one to six months. By subscribing to this service, an Excelcom subscriber can send an SMS message to a Telkomsel subscriber by typing a message beginning with a code followed by the telephone number of the addressee of the message, and then send it to the eNote or SMS Oke gateway of the respected service.

Although typing the extra couple of letters and additional digits might not seem like a big deal, it can be quite a nuisance, especially when compared to the convenience of message sending within a single operator.

Within a single operator, you can simply send a SMS message by typing a message and selecting the entry of the addressee in your mobile's phone book. There is no need to look up the number of the addressee and retype it before sending the message.

The eNote service, provided by inTouch, even offers more. You can send e-mails and faxes directly from your mobile by typing a two-letter code followed by the email address or fax number of the addressee. You can obtain the notifications of incoming e- mail messages sent to your mobile phone using SMS messages.

Another service offered by the same company, iQuote, provides real-time on-demand information, regarding currency rates, stock index, JSX stock information, money market, commodities, and so forth.

SMS messaging is also available via the Internet. The South Africa-based www.mtnsms.com offers free SMS message sending to most GSM operators in the world. Through the service, you can keep a list of 28 of your closest friends' mobile phone numbers, for your convenience of SMS messaging.

With this feature, you can simply click on the addressee's name on your contact web page, type the message on the next web page that appears and simply send the message. You can check whether or not your message has been successfully delivered by going to the "track" web page.

This service now also allows the person to whom you have sent the SMS message to reply, if his or her mobile phone is set to "reply via the same message center". When they receive the message, a long string of numbers appears as the sender of the message, which corresponds to your mtnsms "account". When they answer to this message, it will go through the message center with which the message was received, and then sent to your in- box.

The disadvantage of this service is several web pages need to be accessed, and that often takes time to download.

The online communications service from America Online, ICQ, also recently offered an SMS messaging facility in addition to their regular Internet-based messaging service.

The regular service lets you monitor and send messages to your friends who are also online while you are online.

ICQ's SMS messaging service lets you add the GSM mobile phone number of your ICQ friend to his/her contact listing on the ICQ service.

Frankly, compared to the web-based mtnsms.com, SMS messaging via ICQ is much more convenient. ICQ-ers do not need to wait for web pages to download to send messages or to check if and when their messages have been sent and received by the addressee.

If the person to whom you would like to send the message is not an ICQ-er, you simply need to select the SMS sending function from a pop-up menu bar and an SMS sending interface immediately appears.

Type the phone number of the addressee and your message, and click to send.

Sending an SMS to an ICQ-er is even easier. You only need to click on the contact's nickname on the ICQ interface, select the ICQ option on the pop-up menu bar, type the message and send. An icon automatically appears on your ICQ interface as soon the addressee has received the message on his or her mobile phone.

Once an SMS message sent via ICQ is received, another string of numbers followed by your ICQ number will also appear on the screen of the recipient's mobile phone. The recipient can reply to the message he or she has received.

The reply message will appear as an icon showing a mobile phone with a yellow note behind it on your ICQ number.

From a GSM mobile phone, you can also send messages to an ICQ- er by sending your message to the ICQ string followed by the ICQ number of the addressee, using the ICQ message center number.

The message you send will appear as an incoming SMS message, just like the reply message mentioned above.

Messaging from ICQ to SMS is fantastic, as it allows one to send SMS messages to colleagues as far as Europe, directly from a computer.

About three weeks ago, I received an SMS message on my mobile phone. The sender's number indicated that it was from a friend in Malaysia.

He was the first person I sent my ICQ to SMS message, and he was very much impressed.

But it seems to be my turn to be impressed. In his message, he simply wanted to say that now you can send SMS messages globally.

I was also able to reply to his message successfully. I only had to ensure that I used the international format of telephone numbers, which starts with the + symbol for international direct dialing, followed by country code, area code and phone number.

I can send SMS messages to friends all over the world, while sending them to my next door neighbor who uses a different GSM operator was not yet possible.

But last week cross-operator SMS messaging became available within Indonesia as well.

Now, Satelindo subscribers can send SMS messages to Excelcom users, vice versa, and so forth.

Nonetheless, we can say that SMS messaging through the Global System for Mobile communications has gone truly global.

From anywhere in the world you can send an SMS message to your friend in another part of the world. Well, almost any part of the world.

Ironically, the United States and Japan, who claim to be the leaders of information technology, are perhaps the only two major countries that have not yet adopted GSM as their main system for mobile telecommunications.

That is what you get for being too self-centered, I guess. I hope they get the message one day.