| 1. |
What
is SMS？
Short
Message Service: available
on digital GSM networks
allowing text messages
of up to 140 English
characters to be sent
and received via the
network operator's message
center to your mobile
phone, or from the Internet,
using a so-called "SMS
gateway" website.
If the phone is powered
off or out of range,
messages are stored
in the network and are
delivered at the next
opportunity. |
 |
| 2. |
How
much will be the charges
for SMS broadcast service?
You
can select appropriate
service plan according
to your usage and expensive.
If you need to consume
large volume of SMS
to broadcast, attractive
discount will be offer.
For details, please
contact our Sales and
Marketing Department
for enquiry. |
|
| 3. |
May
I know whether the receiver
gets my SMS message?
In normal cases, your
SMS message will be
delivered to receiver
immediately. However,
in some circumstances,
each SMS message will
takes longer deliver
time. For examples:
traffic jam or malfunction
of telecommunication
network. Telecommunication
provider will resend
your SMS message due
to unreachable network,
personal mobile shut
down or breakdown of
mobile. |
|
| 4. |
How
do I change my personal
information and password?
After
access your own SMS
accounts, use the menu
at the left side to
edit your personal information,
online address book,
change password and
review your account
remaining balance. |
|
| 5. |
May
I send one single SMS
message to multiple
mobile phone number?
Yes.
You may type in those
designated mobile numbers
separated by ","
or import your personal
address book to have
SMS broadcast. |
|
| 6. |
Guaranteed SMS delivery, is it possible? If not, what are the reasons?
Due to uncontrollable telecommunication factors such as receiver's mobile phone status, abnormal environment signal, signal interference and many more, no service provider is able to guarantee delivery of SMS to intended mobile phones.
We cannot guarantee delivery but we can provide detailed report indicating delivery status for sender's further action if a resend is necessary. |
|
| 7. |
Can SMS delivery time be predicted and guaranteed? What are the factors affecting performance?
Although a single instance of SMS delivery cannot be guaranteed, there are statistical figures provided by telecom operators that 80% of SMS sent through their SMS gateways are successfully delivered within 20 seconds. The remaining 20% are either delayed or failed due to issues arising from operator network or mobile phones. When a SMS fails to be delivered within 48 hours, i.e. with no acknowledgement from the intended mobile phone, it will be classified as a failure and an EXPIRE status is returned by the telecom operator to our SMS gateway for reporting to sender.
There are many factors affecting the speed of SMS delivery, including but not limited to following cases:
| a. |
User mobile phones are not turned on or are in location with poornetwork coverage. SMS gateway will retry every few hours. |
| b. |
Telecom operators' SMS capacity in certain cell/area exceeds its handling limit, such as during busy hours in MTR stations, New Year's Eve in Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay areas. |
| c. |
Mobile phone errors, such as SMS inbox is full, malfunction, etc. |
|
|
| 8. |
Is
there any restriction
on the total number
of characters in each
SMS message？
There is no length limitation for sending text over SMS. You can send message over SMS as long as you need, but long text message will be broken down to be sent over in as many SMS as it requires to send the full text, thus incurring multiple SMS delivery charges.
Pure English:
Each SMS unit can carry up to 160 English characters
However, if the text message in a SMS having more than 160 characters, it is classified as long SMS that will be sent in multiple SMS In order to regroup the multiple SMS into one message in receiving mobile phone, some character spaces in each long SMS will be taken up for the connection information, thus limiting maximum number to 153 characters. That is, two long SMS can carry only 306 characters instead of 320.
Mixed Language (Chinese/English or Chinese Only) :
One SMS unit can carry up to 70 characters
However, if the text message in a SMS having more than 70 characters, it is classified as long SMS that will be sent in multiple SMS. In order to regroup the multiple SMS into one message in receiving mobile phone, some character spaces in each long SMS will be taken up for the connection information, thus limiting maximum number to 67 characters. That is, two long SMS can carry only 134 characters instead of 140. |
|
| 9. |
How SMS is charged?
Mobile phone operators charge all submitted SMS from SMS service providers or from direct mobile phone users regardless the numbers are valid or not. Some SMS service providers like us however will help their customers authenticate the submitted numbers with OFTA's numbering plan and operators' real-time numbering allocation status to avoid being charged for mistaken numbers.
Sender will still be charged for the SMS for unsuccessful delivery of SMS to valid mobile phone numbers for reasons explained above. |
|
| 10. |
Can SMS service providers confirm if the SMS is indeed received and opened by the intended mobile phone? What kind of SMS can provide delivery status?
The only status that telecom operators can provide is an acknowledgement sent by the intended mobile phone that it has received the SMS. If an acknowledgement is received, the delivery is considered successful; otherwise it is a failed delivery and will re-try sending for up to 48 hour. The delivery status are updated periodically and sent to SMS service providers for reporting to their customers. Telecom operators provide delivery status report only to the higher-priced CLI-SMS users.
There is no mobile phone network design existed today to determine if a successful delivered SMS has been read by the intended mobile phone user. |
|
| 11. |
When mobile phone users switch between operators with the same number, how would it affect SMS delivery?
It usually takes around 4 hours and maybe up to 2 days in extreme case for telecom operators to update their network on the switch. SMS may not be able to reach the intended mobile number during the transition period even if the mobile phone is turned on. Length of service disruption depends on individual operator's internal process procedure. |
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| 12. |
Are there other factors affecting the delivery speed of web-based SMS broadcast service?
There are two factors that will affect the delivery speed. First is sender's internet connection speed to the SMS service provider's website. Second is the number of simultaneous users accessing the service website. Both factors will affect the time required to upload the list of mobile numbers for the broadcast. While SMS service providers cannot do anything to first factor, a good provider like us can expand their webserver throughput by investing in more hardware and bandwidth and/or even provide dedicated channel for prioritized customers. |
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