Ulticom's Signalware® software provides solutions to accelerate development
and deployment of network elements that enable messaging services. Signalware SS7,
Signalware SIP, and Signalware SIGTRAN offer an unparalleled combination of scalability,
global interoperability, fault resilience, and standards-based Application Programming
Interfaces (APIs) on open computing platforms. Signalware can be used in the development
of voice mail systems, Short Message Service Centers (SMSC), and Multimedia Messaging
Service Centers (MMSC).
From "Texting" to Multimedia
Enhanced network services, such as messaging, are in great demand in today's communication
services marketplace. Voice mail systems of the previous decade have evolved into
unified messaging portals that can be accessed from multiple types of networks and
devices. While youth markets in Asia and Europe initially adopted wireless text
messaging, those markets have seen the appeal grow to all segments of their population.
Wireless text messaging has tremendously impacted the social landscape to the extent
it has spawned a new language called "Texting". Today, messaging is quickly
evolving to new services, such as rich multimedia messaging, and offers the potential
to generate billions of dollars in service provider revenue.
Text messaging is primarily driving the growth in wireless data services, which
currently accounts for 90% of total operator wireless data service revenue. According
to the Yankee Group, messaging and e-mail services account for over 15% of the typical
service provider's Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the European market, a figure
expected to double by 2006. Recent messaging service offerings integrate mobile
and Internet-based messaging services. This enables information sharing via group
lists stored on the Internet or messaging between an individual using the Internet
and one using a mobile phone.
Implementation of inter-carrier messaging gateways is another factor driving the
growth of messaging. Early adoption of inter-carrier messaging gateways along with
uniform adoption of GSM standards through most of Europe enabled transmission of
messages between carriers. The result was increased messaging traffic on mobile
networks. The implementation of messaging interoperability between carriers in North
America in the beginning of 2002 has now accelerated the use of messaging services.
In the first 10 months of inter-carrier interoperability, messaging traffic doubled.
Carriers expanded this growth to implementing messaging gateways between North America
and Europe. Universal messaging across the globe in conjunction with the integration
of Internet-based and media-rich messaging will transform messaging services in
the coming years.
Messaging holds even greater promise, as 2.5G and 3G wireless networks enable Multimedia
Messaging (MMS). MMS, which requires multimedia-capable handsets, allows messages
containing rich media, such as sounds, images, and video, to be sent and received.
This messaging solution operates on a store-and-forward system so messages can be
delivered via data traffic channels (WAP or GPRS). MMS eliminates the 140-byte message
limit of Short Message Service (SMS) and imposes no limit on message size. Interoperability
with user databases (HLRs) and other messaging systems (such as SMSCs) is critical
to MMS success.
MMS Solution Architecture