Microblogging[edit]
Main article: Microblogging
Of many texting trends, a system known as microblogging has surfaced, which consists of a minituarised blog, inspired mainly by people's tendency to jot down babble and post it. They consist of sites like Twitter and Chinese equivalent Weibo (微博) which are very popular.
Emergency services[edit]
In some countries, text messages can be used to contact emergency services. In the UK, text messages can be used to call emergency services only after registering with the emergency SMS service. This service is primarily aimed at people who, by reason of disability, are unable to make a voice call. It has recently been promoted as a means for walkers and climbers to call[25][26] emergency services from areas where a voice call is not possible due to low signal strength.
In the US, there is a move to require both traditional operators and Over-the-top messaging providers to support texting to 911.[27]
In Asia, SMS is used for tsunami warnings and in Europe, SMS is used to inform individuals of imminent disaster. Since the location of a handset is known, systems can alert everyone in an area that the events has made impossible to pass through e.g. an avalanche.
Reminders of hospital appointments[edit]
SMS messages are used in some countries as reminders of hospital appointments. Missed outpatient clinic appointments cost the National Health Service (England) more than £600 million ($980 million) a year[28] SMS messages are thought to be more cost effective, swifter to deliver, and more likely to receive a faster response than letters. A recent study by Sims and colleagues (2012) examined the outcomes of 24,709 outpatient appointments scheduled in mental health services in South-East London. The study found that SMS message reminders could reduce the number of missed psychiatric appointments by 25–28%, representing a potential national yearly saving of over £150 million.[29]
Commercial uses[edit]
Short codes[edit]
Short codes are special telephone numbers, shorter than full telephone numbers, that can be used to address SMS and MMS messages from mobile phones or fixed phones. There are two types of short codes: dialing and messaging.
Text messaging gateway providers[edit]
SMS gateway providers facilitate the SMS traffic between businesses and mobile subscribers, being mainly responsible for carrying mission-critical messages, SMS for enterprises, content delivery and entertainment services involving SMS, e.g., TV voting. Considering SMS messaging performance and cost, as well as the level of text messaging services, SMS gateway providers can be classified as resellers of the text messaging capability of another provider's SMSC or offering the text messaging capability as an operator of their ownSMSC with SS7.[30][31]
SMS messaging gateway providers can provide gateway-to-mobile (Mobile Terminated–MT) services. Some suppliers can also supply mobile-to-gateway (text-in or Mobile Originated/MO services). Many operate text-in services on shortcodes or mobile number ranges, whereas others use lower-cost geographic text-in numbers.[32]
Patrick Abboud
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