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Send multi-recipient text messages - Message recipients can be contacts from the address book, mobile numbers (MSISDNs), predefined groups, social network users or any combination of these |
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Receive multi-recipient text messages - The message text is displayed along with the list of recipients the message has been sent to. Message recipient can reply to the message sender, reply to all the message recipients or reply to some of the message recipients. |
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Groups - the application contains full group management. Users can predefine groups and then associate address book contacts and mobile numbers with these groups. Messages sent to a group are sent to all the group members. |
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Inbox - the Inbox folder stores incoming messages. The folder size is configurable. Once the maximum number of Inbox messages is exceeded, new messages override the oldest ones. |
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Sent Items - the Sent Items folder stores messages sent. The folder size is configurable. Once the maximum number of Inbox messages is exceeded, new messages override the oldest ones. |
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1. Architecture Overview |
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Sendm uses a client-server architecture in which the clients reside on mobile devices or SIM cards and the server, called the Sendm Message Center, is centrally located. This architecture requires integration with the MTNL's SMSCs using the standard interfaces of large accounts and short codes. Every Sendm Message Center communicates with two centrally located components - the Sendm Coordinator which is used for cross-carrier (and cross-circle) communication and the Sendm Social Server which is used for communication with users of Social Networks. |
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1.1. Message flow |
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The architecture and message flow of the Sendm implementation are depicted in the below diagram. Messages sent by such a user are sent through the SMSC of the carrier of the sender
1- to the Sendm Message Center
2- This is done by using a short code assigned to Sendm. The Sendm Message Center processes the message. For the recipients which are subscribers of a different carrier or reside in a different circle, the Sendm Message Center communicates with the Sendm coordinator to inquire the client type of these recipients
3- The Sendm Message Center sends out messages through the SMSC of the sender's carrier
4- to the message recipients who are mobile users
5- and through the Sendm Social Server to those recipients who are users of social networks
6- Messages originated by users of social networks are sent through the Sendm Social Server to the Sendm Message Center
7- and are processed the same as the messages sent by mobile users. |
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To support the various SMSCs used by MTNL, a separate instance of the Sendm Message Center will be used for each SMSC. This will make the communication between mobile subscribers who are "served" by the same SMSC (meaning, subscribers who are in the same circle) to be the most efficient. At the same time, cross-circle communication will be carried through the Sendm Coordinator. A separate instance of the Sendm Coordinator will be used for cross-circle inter-MTNL communication while a higher level of the Sendm Coordinator will be used for communication between MTNL subscribers and subscribers of other carriers within and outside India. |
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2. Sendm Message Center |
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The Sendm Message Center is deployed for each carrier. The same instance of a Sendm Message Center might serve several carriers. It communicates with the centrally deployed Sendm Coordinator and Sendm Social Server for communication that goes to users of other carriers as well as for communication with other non-carrier communication systems, namely Social Network users. |
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2.1. Functionality |
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The Sendm Message Centre performs the following functions: |
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Formatting and routing of messages according to the recipient's type of Sendm client, differentiating between recipients who have Sendm and those who do not and providing interoperability between different types of Sendm clients as well as different client versions |
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Bi-directional connectivity with the SMSC |
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Cross-carrier interoperability. This done through communication with the Sendm Coordinator component which is deployed centrally rather than per deployment |
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Interconnecting with social networks for the delivery and receipt of message exchanged between mobile users and users of connected social networks. This is done through communication with the Sendm Social Server component which is deployed centrally rather than per deployment |
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Credits management - used when the billing is not done by the carrier |
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Usage measurement including number of messages, number of users and statistics generation |
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Remote control of clients behavior. The server is capable of remotely updating the behavior of the Sendm Clients. This option is done by sending Configuration messages to Sendm Clients which contain parameters such as the Sendm Message Center's TPDA as well as for per-device optimization of user experience. Once a Configuration message is received by a Sendm Client, the client updates it parameters according to the ones included in the received Configuration message. |
