[A] Pricing: SMS messages are a commodity. The big providers buy in large quantity from whoever has the best price today, and on-sell in smaller quantities for larger prices. Today, Xcompany might be the best deal, but tomorrow Y Company might be a better deal. So when you do your application, expect to have to provide for switching from one provider to another. (in other words, build a cfc method that sends a message through the provider, so you can easliy switch to another provider by just writing another method)
[B] you have to buy time through a phone or SMS provider. Just as you need to buy serices from an ISP or a cell phone provider. Messages are priced using a unit called a credit. A SMS might cost one credit, and a MMS might cost two credits. Or as a promotion, the provider might say that between certain hours, SMS's are 0.75 credits. How much you pay for a credit depends on how many you buy at a time. Buy more, they cost you less. [C] other issues: Access: not all providers accept the output from the SMS gateway. The one I used for a while for example required me to send a XML packet in a specific format. Another required an email. The service outside the USA can be a LOT better than the service Inside the USA. I'm afraid the USA lags behind the rest of the industrialised world when it comes to modile technology. One provider i was using for example, sent messages seamlessly to over 540 networks in 190 countries, and can accept up to 5000 SMS messages per minute. WIth European providers you dont need to know or care where in teh world your recipient is, or what phone provider they're with - just send the message with teh fully qualified cell phone number and wherever that phone is in teh world the message will be delivered if it's turned on and connected to a network. Speed: I worried about sending Australian messages to a European SMS provider, but it proved not an issue. I set up several time tests and found there was no appreciable delay in sending my messages through Eruope and Africa compared to sending from one mobile handset to another across the room. Inbound numbers: All my comments above are related to outbound messages - where you are sending messages to people It's a little more complicated to receive messages, in that you have to have a provider in the country you are expecting to receive messages from. So while you might send your messages OUT through a Chinese or Indian or German company, you'll need to have inbound messages from USA customers coming through a USA provider, or else your customers will have to dial an international number to send their message. You might find some resistance on their part to accept the cost of that. But you dont have to have the same provider for both inbound and outbound messages. The main point is - expect to be changing providers. Prices change regularly and new providers come on the scene - it's a commodity like copy paper and coffee and sugar - If you build your application from the start expecting to want to change providers, you can be a lot more flexible and take account of changes in the market as they happen, without a lot of disruption to your code. Hope this helps. Cheers Mike Kear Windsor, NSW, Australia Adobe Certified Advanced ColdFusion Developer AFP Webworks http://afpwebworks.com ColdFusion, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET hosting from AUD$15/month On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 6:26 AM, Dave Watts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Is the SMS Gateway available in CF8 Standard, or Enterprise only? > > It's available, but limited to running a single request at a time. If you're > serious about using it - enough to warrant getting an SMS short code - > you'll probably want Enterprise. > >> Aside from having the gateway built in, is there anything >> else to purchase? (like an account with AT&T or something) >> Are there any fees associated with sending (or receiving) >> messages through the gateway? Who charges you? How? > > You will need to use an SMS service provider, who will charge you fees. I'm > not too familiar with the fee structure, though; I know some people on the > list can provide much more detail on that. > >> I was always curious how you get those 5 digit codes you see on tv. > > You pay for them: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_code > > Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software > http://www.figleaf.com/ > > Fig Leaf Software provides the highest caliber vendor-authorized > instruction at our training centers in Washington DC, Atlanta, > Chicago, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, or on-site at your location. > Visit http://training.figleaf.com/ for more information! > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;192386516;25150098;k Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/message.cfm/messageid:306113 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
