Telecom Glossary

The global telecommunication protocol used by PSTN and mobile networks to route calls and SMS messages directly between mobile network operators without IP encapsulation.

A set of protocols that allows SS7 telephone signaling traffic to be transported over IP networks (SCTP/IP), bridging traditional telecommunication hardware with modern IP networks.

An open, industry-standard telecommunications protocol designed to provide a high-throughput data communications interface for passing SMS messages between SMSCs and Enterprise ESME platforms.

The mobile network hardware element responsible for storing, routing, queuing, and delivering text messages between mobile devices and enterprise gateways.

An external application or gateway server (such as NAMX Telecom) that connects to an SMSC via SMPP to transmit and receive high-volume SMS traffic.

An automated algorithmic routing system that selects the path of least financial cost for an SMS message while adhering to strict quality-of-service (QoS) delivery standards.

The binary payload block transmitted in SMPP protocol packets containing header commands, sequence numbers, destination address, and encoded message bytes.

Header bytes appended to the payload of an SMS message instructing the receiving handset how to concatenate multi-part text messages or display binary content.

The standard 7-bit character set used in GSM cellular networks, supporting up to 160 characters per single SMS message segment.

The regulatory feature allowing mobile subscribers to retain their phone number when switching carriers, requiring real-time HLR lookup queries to route SMS accurately.

Fraudulent generation of artificially inflated SMS traffic or OTP requests aimed at exploiting revenue-share agreements, blocked by SS7 signaling firewalls.

A standardized status receipt sent back by the receiving Mobile Network Operator (MNO) confirming whether an SMS was delivered, rejected, or expired on the subscriber's handset.

Automated business messaging sent from an application to a mobile subscriber, commonly used for 2FA OTP codes, order notifications, appointment reminders, and banking alerts.

Standard mobile-to-mobile text conversations exchanged directly between two human subscribers over cellular networks.

Mobile Country Code (3 digits) and Mobile Network Code (2 or 3 digits) used together to uniquely identify a wireless carrier operator globally (e.g. 528-11 for Singtel Singapore).

The number of discrete SMS message PDU payloads an SMPP bind or REST API endpoint can transmit and process per second.

Mandatory blockchain-based registration system enforced by telecom regulators (such as TRAI India) requiring registration of Sender IDs, Headers, and Content Templates.

A real-time database lookup to verify a phone number's current status, active network carrier, roaming state, and portability before sending SMS to prevent wasteful routing.