| Cellular phones and pagers are part of the "now" | | | | What is often overlooked, is the fact that email was |
| generation, instant contact, anywhere at any time. | | | | not designed to be time sensitive. There can be |
| People are looking for convenience, comfort and | | | | significant delays and an instantaneous receipt can be |
| security. The question is how instantaneous and reliable | | | | lost when sending email to a pager or cell phone. Text |
| is the contact? | | | | messages sent via the email protocol SMTP could |
| Talking with someone is the main use for a cell phone, | | | | take a more scenic delivery route. While in many |
| yet due to poor reception how often do calls not go | | | | cases, receiving messages in a timely fashion is not |
| through, or important calls "dropped" due to flaky | | | | critical; some industries require and benefit from the |
| coverage? Let us not forget, that in a time of tragedy, | | | | receipt of urgent messages. It is therefore important to |
| lines were congested and the resounding "all circuits | | | | realize and make a distinction between the protocols |
| busy" messages were heard from coast to coast. | | | | that are designed for instantaneous communication |
| There is certainly room for improvement if you want | | | | and those that are not. |
| to reach out and touch someone. | | | | If sending messages immediately to a cell phone or |
| The alternative to voice communication is traditional | | | | pager is required, more reliable protocols are available. |
| text messaging, enjoyed by the young as SMS, a 'hip' | | | | When sending text messages, via a modem, the |
| communication method, and the older as the tried and | | | | Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP) is extremely |
| true paging, a trustworthy means of communication. A | | | | dependable, albeit slower due to the modem dialing. If |
| carrier receives pages or text messages via a | | | | sending messages with a high-speed Internet |
| traditional dial up modem or Internet connection to their | | | | connection use the newer time sensitive Internet |
| terminal, and then broadcasts the messages over their | | | | protocols: Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP) and |
| network to the appropriate wireless device. How | | | | Wireless Communication Transfer Protocol (WCTP). If |
| instant is sending a text message? The answer might | | | | your carrier supports these protocols they are the |
| surprise you...it depends. | | | | better options for sending important messages. |
| Traditional means of sending text messages is | | | | If carriers understand the "now" generation is about |
| surprisingly reliable and fast. However, many cellular | | | | speed and reliability, customer satisfaction will improve. |
| carriers, wishing to merge technologies while keeping | | | | Text messaging is a reliable and useful communication |
| costs down, have opted to utilize email technology to | | | | method, especially since voice is not always |
| send text messages. Why not, an email is nothing | | | | convenient or possible. With public awareness and |
| more than a text message, using the Simple Mail | | | | urging, carriers will increase their offerings of text |
| Transfer Protocol (SMTP). On the surface this sounds | | | | messaging protocols. Carriers should offer email or |
| like a great idea, nearly everyone has email access, | | | | SMTP, but they must also support time sensitive |
| and the use of the Internet streamlines the sending of | | | | protocols, regardless, of whether the protocols are |
| messages. | | | | older such as TAP or newer such as WCTP. |