Bulk SMS Operators

Introduction

Apart from GSM modems or phones, SMSLib also supports some bulk SMS operators. These operators are companies which provide APIs and allow you to send SMS via their infrastructure. There are some notable pros and cons in using a bulk SMS operator instead of a simple GSM modem:

Pros

Cons

One way communication: Currently, SMSLib and bulk SMS companies can be used only for sending messages - you cannot receive messages via those companies. This is an SMSLib limitation.

In order to overcome all of the above limitations and combine the best of all worlds, you can also consider using both a GSM modem and a bulk SMS operator. The GSM modem can be used for receiving messages. On the other hand, you can forward all outbound messages via the bulk operator. SMSLib supports such a scenario.

Disclaimer

Please pay particular attention to the following issues:

Supported Bulk SMS Operators using the HTTP/HTTPS protocol

BULKSMS

BULKSMS is a very well known bulk SMS operator, supporting several transport streams. SMSLib implements the HTTP-to-SMS interface. The following features are supported:

Application notes:

Clickatell

Clickatell is also one of the most known bulk SMS operators, supporting many transport streams. SMSLib implements the HTTP / HTTPS Clickatell interface. The following features are supported:

Application notes:

EzTexting

Ez Texting provides affordable two-way messaging through their SMS gateway. They can deliver your messages from their US and Canadian short codes (313131 & 393939). Most features of Ez Texting’s web application are exposed via their APIs. Features include:

Application notes:

Generic SMPP Bulk Operators

Starting from version 3.4.6, SMSLib also supports the SMPP protocol (using the JSMPP library). So you could use SMSLib with the provider of your choice, as long as the SMPP connectivity is supported.