WAP Push is the term used to send (binary) XML notification messages to the phone, typically via SMS.
A Service Indicator (SI) is an example of a WAP Push message and contains text and a URL which can be used to retrieve browser content such as an images,WAP pages, downloadable mp3s etc...
Typically a service provider that does not have MMSC access will use Service Indicators to deliver content to mobile phones. A service indicator requires mobile user intervention to confirm that s/he wants to establish a data connection to download content.
An MMS notification (containing a URL + message id etc) is also sent over WAP Push. Typically this is sent by the MMSC when an MMS message is ready for collection. When the phone receives the MMS Notification it automatically establishes a data connection without any user intervention. It takes the URL+message id and makes a connection back to the MMSC over an SOAP/XML protocol called MM1 and downloads the message.
Now here's the thing, you could build your own 'virtual MMSC' by sending (WAP push) MMS notifications using a GSM modem or 3rd party SMPP connection. Your 'virtual MMSC' application would host the MMS message for collection on some internet server. (You would have to implement the server side of MM1 protocol - which NCL have in Provato by the way.) However there are 2 problems with this scenario:
With some operators (e.g. Vodafone Ireland) the phone has a different GPRS access point for the MMSC as it does for the (general) internet access. This means that when a phone establishes a GPRS connection to the mobile operator's network, it cannot get beyond that point to your 'virtual MMSC'.
In the case where the GPRS access point is the same for both MMS and general Internet access (e.g. O2), it can collect the message (via MM1) from your 'virtual MMSC'. However it the user replies to the MMS, it will go back through the MMSC. A way around 2 this is to put an 'email' address as the source of the MMS message as most mobile operators have MMS to email support.
Typically 3rd party service providers use a combination of all of the above to deliver content to mobile phones.
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