SMS Within Limits

The more subscribers are exposed to SMS, the greater the likelihood they'll want to use it to contact family and friends. In some cases, they'll want to reach out to people with different carriers and in foreign countries.

Verizon Wireless

Total Hold Time: 1 minute

Transfer/IVR Layers: 2

CSR: Thank you for calling Verizon Wireless. Can I help you?

WR: I have a boyfriend in France, and I want to know if it's possible to send him SMS messages from the United States.

CSR: If his phone is capable of receiving them, you should be able to, as long as he's got an e-mail address. Does he have a European cell phone?

WR: Yes.

CSR: You just need to find out how to SMS that phone. It's like if you were using a POP e-mail account, just a regular old e-mail account. That's basically all SMS is.

WR: Does that mean that I can send a message from my phone, and he can do the same?

CSR: If his phone has the capabilities, yes. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to do that.

WR: I've heard that sometimes the only way to do it is to send a message from a computer.

CSR: No. Our phone has the ability to send messages to an e-mail address. Hold on for a moment, and let me check with one of our people to see if that's actually a possibility.

CSR places WR on hold for 2 minutes.

CSR: OK. Here's the situation. It can be done, but it has to be done through the e-mail on the Web browser service. SMS handles only our system. If (a recipient is) outside of our system, it won't work. But you can go through the Web browser on your phone, if you have the capability of doing that on your phone.

VoiceStream Wireless

Total Hold Time: 35 seconds

Transfer/IVR Layers: 2

CSR: Thank you for calling VoiceStream. How may I help you?

WR: I have a brother in London. Can I use your service to send him SMS messages from here in the United States?

CSR: From my understanding, no. He would have to be within your local coverage area or if you had a nationwide plan, within that coverage area, but to another country, no.

WR: Can I send him text messages through any other service?

CSR: If you hold one moment, I can check on that for you.

After 20 seconds, the CSR returns.

CSR: I apologize. I stand corrected. You can e-mail to anyone, so you will be able to use that service and e-mail your brother.

AT&T Wireless

Total Hold Time: 30 seconds

Transfer/IVR Layers: 2

CSR: Thank you for holding. (Name) speaking. How may I assist you?

WR: I have a sister who's over in Italy. Can I send her SMS messages?

CSR: SMS messages? Text messages, you mean?

WR: Yes.

CSR: Yes, you can.

WR: How would I go about doing that?

CSR: In the normal fashion.

WR: So I can send a message from my wireless phone to her wireless phone?

CSR: Yeah, however you normally send one.

WR: I've never sent one, but friends told me that some wireless carriers only let you send messages from your computer to the phone. I wasn't sure how it worked.

CSR: You have to have the proper e-mail address or text-messaging address if you're sending it to a wireless phone. Do you know how to send a text message to her phone?

WR: No.

CSR: I better double-check this.

CSR places WR on hold for 4 minutes.

CSR: I apologize. I gave you misinformation. You won't be able to send it to her phone. She has to be within what we call an AT&T footprint, in other words, where she can be serviced by AT&T Wireless.

SMS Boundaries

Today, SMS in North America generally is limited to a carrier's geographic coverage area. However, technical links are being made between air interfaces, and carriers with differing networks will soon be able to share SMS coverage. But first, the carriers will have to negotiate international roaming agreements and configure their networks to exchange SMS messages with foreign carriers' networks.

More information about SMS can be found at: www.mobilesms.com/default.asp?link=1.