text mesaging - is there a delay in recieving text message from europe to us?

There's going to be a delay, just like there's a delay with TV signals, information has to obey the laws of physics. Plus there's also passing between various networks that introduces further lag.

The physics of electronic data transmission are trivial compared to routing, prioritizing, and exchange methods.

With SMS around the globe, you're traversing multiple carriers.  There's a store-and-forward system, similar to email.  The outbound message goes to the home network's Service Center.

Interconnects between networks are inherently slowed because of accounting features (each hand-off is billed back to the sending network, which is billed back to the sending account holder).

From there, the local Service Center must attempt contact with the target handset.  It's a best-effort service that does have retries built-in.  So it will queue a message if the handset is unavailable.  There are still some forward-and-forget servers that will attempt onece, then dump the message from the queue.

Wikipedia has some basic articles on SMS and SMSC.

Sorry...hit submit too soon.  Other messaging systems may be faster.  Blackberry messaging, for instance, I have less than 5 seconds from USA to Asia.  The messages travel on RIM's network, similar to SMTP over TCP/IP.

okay...heres my question, maybe you can help me out.  Ive got Ozeki, and other modems and sms gateways, but I cant get them to work here in the US...if I take a working GSm SIM card out of the phone and put it in a third party SMS gatway it wont work...its as if the SIM is designed to disconnect from a third party gateway...any ideas...my goal is automate my SMS by scaping text msgs off a queue on my MS SQL DB and send and recieve them thru my carriers GSM SIM card and third party gateway...help please...

Sorry, not familiar with gateway hardware.  I've used Nokia direct-connected to serial port, free e-mail to SMS (which has gone away in recent years).  That was back in the days when pocket-sized phones were overtaking the Motorola bricks and the transportable shoulder bags....I'm a bit rusty.

That's not quite the original question but, what do you mean by "it won't work"? Are the devices configured properly? Have you had them working with another countries SIM card? What model gateways and modems do you have? What carrier's SIM cards are you trying to use?

aleghart..thanks...


Zakabog,
That's not quite the original question but
>>be glad to open another post..

"it won't work"?
>>I have a modem from Ozeki(Fastak wavecom(sp?)) modem and their ozeki sms gateway and I cant get it to work with my T-Mobile GSM SIMS..I have tried two...and a sprint phone as well....I have done many runs of where I run a SMS thru the tmobile phone, take out the gsm tmobile SIM put into wavecom..(the light comes on but never blinks..to detect the sim on network)...the ozeki sees the modem...I can see the AT commands running thru to it..but never sends a sms...take out the sim again put it in tmobile phone and send a text..put it back in modem..it wont work..i have had their tech person overseas and he cant help..he ran AT Commands against it..all he can see is the SIM wont connect to the carrier network.  But they are over in Europe and SMS is different over there...he remotes into my laptop to configure...any ideas?

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think the device you have and T-Mobile (in the United States) use the same GSM frequencies, did you purchase the device overseas? Was there any information telling you that the device would work on a US network? From what I see the two are incompatible but I'm finding that there isn't much information. I'd want to call T-Mobile or Ozeki (I'd try Ozeki first) and ask if one would work with the other.

different GSM frequencies...now that is a good point....I didnt think of that....are there different GSM freqs?? I never heard of that...

I purchased the wavecom from overseas yes, from Ozeki, which is located in Hungry, after they assured that it would work in the US.  However, I have tried several other GSM carriers too with no success.  Its expensive to play russian roulette with the US carriers buying different cell phones to try the modem. My home is the states, I was just trying to get some modem to work with the ozeki sms gateway as it is european.  

Out of all the US carriers Tmobile is more european(the home of SMS)...though the tmobile in europe is different than the US tmobile...Tmobile offers nokia and erricksson whihc I have thought of trying that as they are more european and the offer the necessary GSM..I have tried all the At Commands and though the driver is set up right and the device manager sees the modem through a serial port...its just not interacting with the TOMBILE US GSM SIM card as the light on the modem is suppose to blink when it sees that the SIM has connected to the carrier network.

...at a loss...might be time to try another sms gateway..but Ozeki...has such a presence in Europe for sure..but I also thought the US..as microsoft just signed a contract with them to outsurce their Outlook Mobile thru their exchange server...

also most carriers in the US are CDMA..only AT&T and Tmobile offer pure GSM...though sprint offers the hybrid CDMA/GSM phone..but you have to be out of the states to use it....it has to be outside the US for the phone to switch to GSM mode...

I think US uses GSM900/1900 and Europe is GSM800/1800, from what I see your modem only supports GSM800/1800. Most cell phones I think are quad band so if you leave the country the phone will just use the supported frequency but your modem doesn't seem to have support for either US frequency.

Zakabog...

You hit the nail on the head....it looks like gsm frequencies on the wavcom can be modified....any ideas how?

If its only a dual band device then it's a hardware limitation, you'd have to open up the device and do a hardware modification (I don't know exactly what but I don't think it'd be easy and I'd need the model number of the device. I'd suggest selling the one you have and purchasing a quad band device or a tri-band modem (those would work in the US and in Europe) or if you want to only use it in the US then a dual band for the US frequencies.

its a FASTRAK Supreme 10 - GSM/GPRS/EDGE CI.10 Plug & Play

it says in the specs:
> Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHZ Plug & Play

looks like this:

http://www.embeddedworks.net/pdetail.php?mn=wavecom&mid=wavecom110&prod=wwan055

heres the specs:
Modem-features-20101020.doc

Strange, there must be an option somewhere in your software to make the device use the other frequencies. Check around in the configuration as I don't know what software you're using so it'd be hard to walk you through.

If I take a working GSM SIM card out of the  phone - The phone has a setting for its message centre (SMSC) +61418706700 is the Telstra Network SMSC.

and put it in a third party SMS gateway it wont work = Fastrack Supreme 10 (GSM / GPRS) Modem?

its as if  the SIM is designed to disconnect from a third party gateway - Your SIM is a SUBSCRIBER Identity Module.  As your SIM is not a SUBSCRIBER to a 3rd party, you are being rejected.  There are very few if any open access SMS gateways.

my goal is automate my SMS by scaping text msgs off a queue on  my MS SQL DB - That part can be done.

and send and receive them thru my carriers GSM SIM card and  third party gateway.  See SIM relationship and its importance in GSM.

...help please...

Fastrack Supreme 10 (GSM / GPRS) Modem?
>>yes , that is what I have, but I have also tried attaching the phone to the laptop ...thru a driver..

my goal is automate my SMS by scaping text msgs off a queue on  my MS SQL DB - That part can be done.
>>okay how...

Your SIM is a SUBSCRIBER Identity Module.  As your SIM is not a SUBSCRIBER to a 3rd party, you are being rejected.
>>I heard of someone that has taken several cell phones and uses the carrier unlimited minutes to launch 1250 sms msgs an hour...24/7..is that possible?

>>I heard of someone that has taken several cell phones and uses  the carrier unlimited minutes to launch 1250 sms msgs an hour...24/7..is  that possible?

Yes, but each cell phone/terminal unit, needs to have a SIM card that corresponds to the Carrier whos SMSC you are trying to utilise.

The ability to send a message, is performed at the Network level at a SMSC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service_center

From my research ...it doesn't appear to be abl to send texts programmatically....unless you plant modems in Europe