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SMS platform

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    #1

    SMS platform

    I have a browser app that sends txt messages via email using the mobile carrier. Need to upgrade that to use SMS. What are others using for this integration? I am sending to the user's default message system, there is no Alpha mobile app on the user's mobile device.
    Steve Wood
    See my profile on IADN

    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: SMS platform

    Twillio works well.
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
    Albert Einstein, (attributed)
    US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

    Comment

      #3
      Re: SMS platform

      My SMS provider has an HTTP API, all it takes is an http_post(url) call

      Comment

        #4
        Re: SMS platform

        That would be the easiest as I could probably batch them and send in one post. Using email method works ok but subject to normal email issues but SMS would guarantee immediate delivery.
        Steve Wood
        See my profile on IADN

        Comment

          #5
          Re: SMS platform

          Have a look at https://www.smsbroadcast.com.au/developers
          Surely you will have a similar provider in California.

          Comment

            #6
            Re: SMS platform

            Hey Steve,

            I would recommend going with Twillio. I use it to send thousands each month. Each text costs something like a percentage of a penny. All the code you need is on the forum post below. Make sure to read my contribution a bit further along in the post I found a bug in the original code. The good things is they are sent as a real text.

            Depending on the volume you may need multiple phone numbers. I was sending all of mine from one phone number (which you get with a Twillio account). But the carriers started to throttle me. So I bought more phone numbers from Twillio and randomly send SMS texts through different numbers to avoid the problem.

            http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafo...hlight=Twillio

            Comment

              #7
              Re: SMS platform

              www.160.com.au is pretty good they seem to have the same standard features as everyone else.

              Comment

                #8
                Re: SMS platform

                Originally posted by Steve Wood View Post
                That would be the easiest as I could probably batch them and send in one post. Using email method works ok but subject to normal email issues but SMS would guarantee immediate delivery.
                SMS guarantees immediate delivery in the States? It doesn't happen often, but an SMS can get delayed for hours or even days in the UK. I'd have thought you need an IM system for immediate delivery.

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: SMS platform

                  I use Twillio and it has never failed me. I've been using it for over 2 years. Some days we send thousands of text messages.

                  I also use Cdyne for RoboCalls, but they also have a text messaging app that I have not yet tried out. (Just noting that here if you want to seek out a competitor.)

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: SMS platform

                    I use twilio and it does work great. I am wondering though, can the "from" phone number be any number I want so that a text recipient can reply to the text and it would go back to the sender - right now, twilio seems to require its own phone number that it assigns. And if the recipeient texts back it goes nowhere and if they call that number they get an irrelevant (to them) voice message.
                    Gary S. Traub, Ph.D.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: SMS platform

                      I am curious about the cost of Twillo. I have an app where I am sending "text" via an email to the mobile phone number + carrier domain. Now that my app is sending hundreds of these per day it is getting hard to manage knowing the carrier's 'sms code'. Can you give me an idea of cost for Twillo.
                      Steve Wood
                      See my profile on IADN

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Re: SMS platform

                        Hi Steve,

                        I am really not quite sure. I have twilio incorprated into a new app I am building and I am very happy with the way ot works. But I have not used it yet to send 100's of texts. In my twilio account dashboard, it says I have sent 36 SMS messages thus far and have been billed $0.27
                        Gary S. Traub, Ph.D.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Re: SMS platform

                          Sounds cheap. I need to know because I cannot predict how many text messages will be sent by my application. I charge a flat fee to the users but would not want excessive SMS message cost to eat into my revenue.
                          Steve Wood
                          See my profile on IADN

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Re: SMS platform

                            Yes, you can receive replies from text messages, but I don't know how, exactly, to do it as I don't use that feature.

                            Look through the Twilio API or email a support rep and they'll be able to explain it better than I could.

                            The costs are all explained pretty well on their website. However, if you plan to meter your customer's text messages, you will likely have to do that yourself. It should be easy to keep track of the number of text messages that go out - maybe less easy to track incoming, if you are going to support that feature.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Re: SMS platform

                              No disagreement with anything said above, just a clarification on something.

                              I would keep in mind something in how text messaging works.....once the msg hits the carrier network (any carrier network) it will be sent the same regardless of the originating source (email or text). One time this isn't true is if the message has a tag to indicate preference (such as a disaster or warning msg). Also, some carriers allow customers to automatically disable email to text delivery (thinking it may be spam).

                              Asside from those differences...

                              Let's say you send by email Steve, like you are now, and you have control of the email server, and the server send out email immediately rather than waiting for a batch size to be met (or time span), and that email then hits the carrier network...it goes along just like the sms message would because at that point it is an sms message. I only mention this because many sms services out there do have a built in delay on their own network due to batching.

                              There are some other noteable differences, but I just wanted to illustrate that it may not be better performance in all cases. Check with the sms provider and see what their batching rules are, if any, and if they have a way to bypass the batching and if so, at what additional cost. For some applications it may be cheaper and faster to have a server dedicated to email only and use that for delivery of text messages as well.

                              It all depends on what your need is and what price point you are comfortable with. We've used a variety of services and it just depends on the client/app. These sms services can often start cheap but many can get expensive quickly.

                              That's my two cents....good luck!

                              Comment

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