AT&T Developer Program

Guide for ESME SMPP Connections

to the AT&T SMS Network

devCentral Document

Document Number 14975

Revision 5.0
Revision Date 05/28/07

© 2007 AT&T Knowledge Ventures

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Revision History

© 2007 AT&T Knowledge Ventures.

All rights reserved.
AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Knowledge Ventures.

All marks, trademarks, and product names used in this document are the property of their respective owners.

Date Revision Description

07/15/05 1.0 Initial release. This document replaces the SMPP Gateway Interface
Programming Guide, document number 11410.
08/15/05 2.0 Updates made to the following information: 2.2 Network Connection, 2.3
Binding, 2.4 Mobile Terminated Messages, and Table 3. Added Section 3
Aggregator Requirements.
04/11/06 3.0 Updates made to the following sections: 1 Introduction, 2.2 Network
Connection, 2.3 Binding, 2.4 Mobile Terminated Messages, 2.5 Mobile
Originated Messages, and Table 2 Required SMPP PDUs.
06/12/06 4.0 Updated Table 3 AT&T SMPP Error Codes
05/28/07 5.0 Updated for rebranding.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Contact Information ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Resources ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2.1 AT&T Resources.............................................................................................................. 1
1.2.2 Other Resources .............................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Terms and Acronyms.................................................................................................................... 1

2. ESME Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 3

2.1 Required PDUs ............................................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Network Connection ..................................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Binding .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2.4 Mobile Terminated Messages ...................................................................................................... 8
2.5 Mobile Originated Messages ...................................................................................................... 10
2.6 Error Codes ................................................................................................................................ 11

3. Aggregator Requirements .................................................................................................................... 16

4. Binary Messages .................................................................................................................................. 17

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Guide for ESME SMPP
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AT&T SMS Network

1. Introduction
The purpose of this document is to specify the requirements and information for
External Short Message Entities ESMEs connecting to the AT&T SMS network.

All ESMEs are required to pass AT&T SMPP certification prior to connecting to
the wireless AT&T production network. The purpose of this testing is to ensure
an ESME’s implementation of SMPP meets the AT&T requirements.

Note: AT&T uses PDU formats from the SMPP 3.4 specifications. The
ESME must accept the response in the SMPP 3.4 format. This is
discussed in Sections 2.3 and 2.4.

1.1 Contact Information

E-mail any comments or questions regarding this document to
developer.program@att.com. Please reference the title of this document in your
e-mail.

1.2 Resources
 Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol Specification 3.4
AT&T SMPP Gateway Certification Test Plan

1.2.1 AT&T Resources

1.2.2 Other Resources

1.3 Terms and Acronyms

Table 1 defines terms and acronyms used in this document.

Table 1 Terms and Acronyms

Term or Acronym Definition

ESME External Short Message Entity
MA Messaging Architecture
NPI Numbering Plan Indicator

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Term or Acronym Definition

PDU Protocol Data Unit
PID Protocol ID
Rx Receiver
Protocol ID SMPP Short Message Peer-to-Peer
SMS Short Message Service
TLV Type Length Value
TON Type Of Number
Tx Transmitter
VPN Virtual Private Network

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2. ESME Requirements

2.1 Required PDUs

Table 2 lists the SMPP PDUs supported by AT&T and the PDUs to which the
ESME is required to respond.

Table 2: Required SMPP PDUs

SMPP Version AT&T Supported? Mandatory
Optional / Not
Allowed (NA)
Bind_Transmitter 3.4 Y O
Bind_Receiver 3.4 Y O
Unbind 3.4 Y M
Generic_Nack 3.4 Y M
Submit_SM 3.4 Y O
Submit_Multi 3.4 N NA
Deliver_SM 3.4 Y O
Data_SM 3.4 N NA
Enquire_Link 3.4 Y M
Alert_Notification 3.4 N NA

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2.2 Network Connection

Connection ESMEs may connect to the AT&T messaging architecture via
Methods VPN or frame relay.
TCP/IP Connection All required destination IP addresses, port assignments and
configuration necessary to connect with AT&T Messaging
Architecture shall be provided to the ESME during the
provisioning process.
Number of SMPP The number of binds is negotiable. Multiple binds may be
binds allowed by prior agreement using either unique system_IDs or
multiple instances of the same system_ID.
Async Required All ESMEs must use asynchronous mode for both Tx and Rx.
Windowing The window size can be set based on application demands
(asynchronous for Tx binds For high volume applications, the Tx window size
mode) may need to be very large (+10,000). See notes in MT
Messaging (Section 2.4) on the submit_sm wait time.
Unrecognized Once the bind is established, the typical PDUs from AT&T will
PDUs be deliver_sm, submit_sm_resp, enquire_link,
enquire_link_resp, and unbind. If the ESME receives a PDU
that cannot be deciphered, it is acceptable for the ESME to
return the Generic Nack. Note that it is never acceptable for
the ESME to unbind on receiving an unrecognized PDU.

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2.3 Binding
Bind Credentials AT&T will provide a system_ID, system_type, and a
password.
Address_range Unless otherwise instructed by AT&T Engineers the
address_range field in the bind request PDU should be null.
Establishing A connection must have been established and an
ESME SMPP authenticated Tx, Rx bind request must be successfully
Connection acknowledged before short messages can be exchanged.
Connection It is the ESME’s responsibility to ensure their binds are
Management connected at all times. It is not acceptable for ESMEs to only
bind in when they have MT traffic to send.
AT&T will not alarm on loss of binds; it is the ESME’s
responsibility to recognize broken connections and resolve
them.
Excessive bind/unbinds per day is not acceptable. The ESME
is required to implement sound bind management methods,
typically by using IP session monitoring and the Enquire_Link
PDU.
Enquire_link PDU The Enquire_link and Enquire_Link_Resp messages are used
to maintain confidence in the connections. Connections that
do not respond to Enquire_Link PDUs must be deemed
unreliable and dropped. The ESME must immediately
respond to the Enquire_Link message from the MA with an
Enquire_Link_Resp. The MA uses a one-minute inactivity
timer; when there is no activity for one minute on the
connection, the MA will send the Enquire_Link. If the ESME
does not respond to the Enquire_Link within 15 seconds, the
MA will drop the connection.
The ESME is required to use Enquire_Link to actively
manage their links. The MA will respond with the
Enquire_Link_Resp. If the MA does not respond with the
Enquire_Link_Resp within 15 seconds, the ESME should
assume the connection is unreliable. The ESME is requested
to send an Unbind command before dropping the connection.
The ESME may then proceed with establishing a new session
and bind.
Terminating ESME When the ESME needs to terminate communications with the
SMPP Connection SMSC, it should issue an Unbind request prior to dropping the
IP session. This enables the SMSC to terminate
communications in an orderly fashion. Otherwise, the AT&T
SMS gateway may take up to 5 minutes to determine that the
bind is gone. Attempts to rebind during this time will result in
the Bind Failed error (x0D)

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Acceptable The SMPP connections must be maintained at all times. The

reasons for acceptable reasons for ESMEs to terminate binds are:
terminating SMPP
connections ESME Maintenance
ESME determines the bind is lost due to network
problems
ESME does not get a response to enquire_link within 15
seconds
It is not acceptable for an ESME to drop the bind for any
other reasons including:
Time out on a submit_sm_response
Receiving a gnack from the Messaging Archecture (MA)
Receiving any type of error code in a
submit_sm_response
Use of a modem style timer on transmitter binds (e.g.,
disconnect after 5 minutes if no more MTs to send).
Bind Attempt The ESME should wait for 60 seconds for the bind response.
Failures If no response is received from the MA in that time, then the
ESME should drop the session and establish a new TCP/IP
session before retransmitting the bind request (do not reuse
the old session).
When a SMPP error is returned (see Table 3 AT&T SMPP
Error Codes), then the ESME should only retry for temporary
errors.
If the ESME receives a permanent bind error their application
must set an alarm, and their operations staff must contact the
AT&T technical support to resolve the bind credential issue.
Retries will not resolve this issue. If the application does retry,
it may not retry more often than once per minute. No retry is
strongly preferred.
Bind_response AT&T SMS nodes may return bind_responses with error
with error codes codes that may or may not include a message_body of “00.”
A gnack is not acceptable.
Unbind PDU The ESME should send the unbind PDU whenever the bind is
taken down.
The AT&T MA will send an unbind PDU if its inactivity timer
expirese for the bind instances. The MA may send the unbind
PDU to the ESME when the MA is being taken out of service.
This will typically happen once a week during the
maintenance window. The ESME should attempt to rebind
every minute.
Requirement to If a transmit bind is lost the ESME application must maintain
maintain the state of each message. If a message is in retry, then the
application states
retries should resume once the bind is re-established.
on loss of bind
Counters should not be reset.

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If a message was in flight (submit_sm sent but the

submit_sm_resp not received) when the bind was lost then
the ESME should send the message again.
ESME Prohibited AT&T Operations may place ESME binds into the Prohibit
mode. If the ESME is bound, placing the bind in Prohibit
mode will cause the bind and the TCP/IP session to be
dropped. Reasons for putting ESMEs into prohibit mode may
be business related, in which case AT&T will attempt to
contact the ESME ahead of this action to resolve the issues.
Operations may also put ESME binds into Prohibit mode
temporarily during maintenance or emergency activity.
The ESME is advised to attempt to rebind for 15 minutes
before setting an alarm and contacting AT&T Technical
Support.

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2.4 Mobile Terminated Messages

Sequence_number The sequence_number in the message header must be
generated by the ESME, and may never be zero (null). This
number must be incremented with each new request. The
sequence number will be used by the MA in the response
corresponding to the request. Please note that the sequence
number applies to the PDU, and any retries of a message
must use a new sequence number.
Service_type Unless instructed otherwise by an AT&T Engineer, the
service_type in the submit_sm PDU should be null.
Source_addr_ton The source_addr_ton of any message is required to be 0 -
Unknown, except in the case where the registered_delivery
flag is set and then the source_addr_ton should be set to 2 -
National.
Source_addr_npi The source_addr_npi of any message is required to be 1 - E-
164.
Source_addr Each ESME will be provided with a source address (often
Origination referred to as a short code) based on application design and
Address demands. ESMEs will use this code as the source_addr in MT
Short Code messages. Mobile users will use this short code as the
destination address to send messages to the ESME. The
short code is provisioned in the MA to route the MO
messages to the ESME. Note: AT&T has to provision the
source_address in the MA in order for the MT to be accepted.
Unrecognized source_address will be rejected with an error
code of x66.
Under no circumstances will alpha characters be allowed for
source addresses.
Dest_addr_ton The dest_addr_ton of all submit_sm messages is required to
be 1 -International.
Dest_addr_npi The dest_addr_npi of all submit_sm messages is required to
be 1 - E-164.
Destination_addr The destination_addr should to be the 10/11-digit AT&T
Mobile Directory Number. Only messages for AT&T mobile
destinations will be accepted.
Protocol_id The protocol_id of any message should be set to 00 hex.
Validity Period A null value in the validity_period field will result in a 72-hour
message life. If the ESME wishes to set a shorter validity
period either absolute or relative time can be used. Please
note that AT&T SMSCs may operate on different time zones
than that of the target mobile, therefore it is highly
recommended that relative time be used. See Section 7 in the
SMPP 3.4 protocol specification for the format.

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Registered Delivery receipts are available; however special routing is

delivery + required in the MA for ESMEs who want delivery receipts for
Delivery Receipts
TDMA mobiles. This needs to be requested when the ESME
is provisioned.
When the registered_delivery flag is set in the Submit_sm
PDU the source_addr_ton should be set to 2. The delivery
receipt will be returned to the ESME in a deliver_sm PDU
once the message is delivered, expired, or rejected. Please
note that AT&T will attempt to deliver messages for up to 72
hours, so it may be three days before the delivery receipt is
returned.
See Section Appendix B in the SMPP 3.4 protocol
specification for the format of the delivery receipt.
Note: The message_id format is ASCII in both the
submit_sm_response and the ID field of the delivery receipt
text body when the SMS is sent to regular AT&T mobiles. If
the destination is TDMA or AT&T Wireless (“blue”) mobiles,
then the message_id format is hex, and the delivery receipt ID
field has been converted to decimal.
Data_coding This is dependant on the ESME implementation. See GSM
scheme (DCS) 03.38. AT&T may restrict or block certain DCS values.
Message Length The maximum message length for the SMS message is 160
7-bit characters, or 140 8-bit characters. If 0 is the length of
the message, then the message will be assumed to be a
wake up call.
Submit_sm_resp The MA will respond to each submit_sm with a
wait time submit_sm_resp within a maximum of 2 minutes. Response
time will typically be less than one second, however in cases
where the destination is a prepaid mobile, the latency to
check prepaid account status may be up to 2 minutes (120
seconds).
If the response is not received in 130 seconds, the ESME
should queue the message and retry after 30-60 seconds. A
maximum of 3 attempts is recommended.
It is never acceptable for an ESME to unbind on a time out of
an MT response.
MT Message The purpose of the throttle limit implemented at the MA is to
throttling protect the SMSCs from traffic spikes. Each ESME is
provisioned in the MA with a maximum message rate that is
based on that ESME’s forecast message volume. It is not the
intent of AT&T to choke an ESME’s traffic; rather, AT&T
prefers to see the traffic sent at a consistent and agreed upon
traffic rate. The ESME may request that the throttle rate be
increased if traffic is forecasted to increase.
The throttle error is triggered when the ESME sends more

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messages than allowed in a sliding 10-second window. For

example, if the ESME has a throttle rate of 5 MT/second, then
the throttle will occur if they send more than 50 messages in
any 10-second window.
Ideally, the ESME will control their transmission to send
messages at a rate just below the throttle rate; this way, a
throttle error should never occur.
If the ESME exceeds the maximum allowed message sending
rate, the MA will return a throttling error command_status to
the ESME. AT&T requires that the ESME stop sending any
messages (new or queued) for 15 seconds before resuming
message submissions.
The throttling error is defined in SMPP 3.4
MT Error Handling If an error occurs during SMS message delivery to the MA the
Guidelines submit_sm_resp will have a non-zero value in the
command_status field. Table 3 AT&T SMPP Error Codes
identifies the reason for the error and the required or
recommended ESME response. Error codes not listed in
Table 3 AT&T SMPP Error Codes should be treated as
permanent errors.
ESMEs are required to discard any messages that receive
permanent error codes.
Note: it is never acceptable for an ESME to unbind on any
type of MT error code.
Submit_sm_resp AT&T SMS nodes may return submit_sm_resp with error
with error codes codes that may or may not includea message_body of “00.” A
gnack is not acceptable

2.5 Mobile Originated Messages

Mobile Origination Mobile originated messages are routed to the ESME based
Requirements on their assigned short code. Any ESME that has a receiver
bind must be prepared to receive:
Unexpected MO messages
MO messages from unexpected sources (typically because of
destination address typos by mobile users)
MO messages of zero length
Non standard characters such as `@#$%&*()_-
+=;:’”,.?/öü{}[]\^|€
Binary messages (e.g., SMS with graphics)
Concatenated messages - multiple deliver_sm PDUs in one
TCP/IP packet (i.e., asynchronous delivery of MO messages)

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MO rate The AT&T SMS network does not limit the rate of MO
messages that it sends to ESMEs, therefore it is possible for
an ESME to receive a burst of MO in a very short period of
time. The ESME application should be designed to
accommodate this.
Deliver_sm_resp ESMEs should respond to deliver_sm messages with in 1
second.
TON and NPI The source and destination TON and NPI values may change
values depending on the network the MO originated on. The ESME
should accept any value.
Source Address The source address will be an AT&T MDN with either a 10
digit or 1+ 10 digit format. ESME applications should accept
either format interchangeably.
Service Type The service_type value may be populated in the deliver_sm
message. The ESME is advised to ignore this value.
Optional Deliver_sm PDUs may include optional parameters. In some
Parameters cases these optional parameters are attached by the MA. If
these are objectionable, then please contact AT&T SMS
Engineering and they can arrange to block the optional
parameters (note: this will completely block all usage of the
optional parameters).
Deliver_sm_resp The ESME is expected to accept all deliver_sm PDU with no
error codes. However, if the ESME is having technical
difficulties such as congestion, they may respond with the
temporary error (x64).
Deliver_sm_resp The deliver_sm_resp sequence_number must correspond to
sequence_number the sequence_number used in the deliver_sm PDU.

2.6 Error Codes

Table 3: AT&T SMPP Error Codes

Error Code Value (hex) Description Error Type Cause Action
ESME_ROK 0x00000000 No error Temp
ESME_RALYBND 0x00000005 ESME Permanent Returned in The MA will
already in response to a eventually time out
Bound State bind attempt the connection.
when the ESME Then the ESME
already has an will be able to bind
active bind. This in again. Retry
error may be once per minute
returned if the for 10 minutes. If
ESME has error persists, set

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Error Code Value (hex) Description Error Type Cause Action

dropped the bind an alarm and
without sending investigate.
an unbind
command
ESME_RINVSRCADR 0x0000000A Invalid Permanent Returned in Do not retry. Set
Source response to a the address_range
Address bind attempt to null in the bind
when the request
address_range in
not null
ESME_RINVDSTADR 0x0000000B Invalid Permanent The Do not retry. Do
Destination destination_addr not send any
Address in the submit_sm messages for this
is not provisioned number. The
as an AT&T number is not an
subscriber AT&T subscriber.
ESME_RBINDFAIL 0x0000000D Bind Failed Temporary Returned in ESME should
response to a attempt to bind
bind attempt once per minute.
when the number
of allowed bind
instances is
reached. This
error also
returned when
the AT&T SMS
network is
temporarily
unavailable.
ESME_RINVPASWD 0x0000000E Invalid Permanent Returned in Prefer no retry.
Password response to a Set an alarm and
bind attempt check the bind
when the credentials against
password is what was provided
invalid by AT&T. If
assistance is
needed, contact
AT&T technical
support. If the app
does retry, it
should not retry
faster than once
every minute.
ESME_RMSGQFUL 0x00000014 Message Temp Returned in Queue the
Queue Full response to a message for 30 to

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Error Code Value (hex) Description Error Type Cause Action

submit_sm when 60 seconds before
the message retrying. The
queue in the recommended
SMS is maximum number
temporarily full. of retries is 10.
There must be a
finite number of
retries.
ESME_RINVSERTYP 0x00000015 Invalid Permanent The service_type Discard the
Service Type value in the message.Set the
submit_sm is service_type value
invalid to null
ESME_RSUBMITFAIL 0x00000045 submit_sm or Temp (if The TON and If the TON and
submit_multi the TON NPI values in the NPI values are not
failed and NPI submit_sm are per requirements
values are incorrect or the provided in the MT
correct) SMSC is section, then
temporarily busy discard.
Otherwise, queue
the message for
30 to 60 seconds
before retrying.
The
recommended
maximum number
of retries is 10.
There must be a
finite number of
retries.
ESME_RTHROTTLED 0x00000058 Throttling Temp Returned in the Queue the
error (ESME submit_sm_resp rejected message
has when the number and stop sending
exceeded of messages per any messages for
allowed second is above 15 seconds.
message the defined limit. Resume sending
limits) after the 15
second pause.
ESME_RX_T_APPN 0x00000064 ESME Temp Returned in the Queue the
Receiver submit_sm_resp message for 30 to
Temporary when the MA has 60 seconds before
App a temporary retrying. The
Error Code error. recommended
maximum number
of retries is 10.
There must be a

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Error Code Value (hex) Description Error Type Cause Action

finite number of
retries.
ESME_RX_R_APPN 0x00000066 ESME Permanent Returned in the Discard the
Receiver submit_sm_resp message. Do not
Reject when the retry.
Message dest_addr is one
Error Code of the following:
1. Not an AT&T
sub
2. A prepaid user
whose account is
out of money
3. A subscriber
that is
provisioned to not
receive this type
of SMS.
Carrier reserved 0x00000410 Service type Temp Returned in the Queue the
not available submit_sm_resp message for 30 to
when the route to 60 seconds before
the SMSC retrying. The
temporarily not recommended
available maximum number
of retries is 10.
There must be a
finite number of
retries.
Carrier reserved 0x00000411 ESME not Permanent Returned in the Prefer no retry.
authorized for bind_resp when Set an alarm and
system type the system type check the bind
is not correct in credentials against
the bind request what was provided
by AT&T. If
assistance is
needed, contact
AT&T technical
support. If the app
does retry, it
should not retry
faster than once
every minute.
Carrier reserved 0x00000412 Service Permanent Returned in the Discard the
denied submit_sm_resp message. Contact

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Error Code Value (hex) Description Error Type Cause Action

when the AT&T technical
message tripped support if
AT&T anti-spam persistent.
protection.
Carrier reserved 0x00000413 ESME Temp Returned in the ESME should
Prohibited bind_resp. Binds attempt to bind
are prohibited at once per minute
this time. This for 15 minutes. If
may be still unsuccessful,
temporary contact AT&T
condition technical support.
(especially if it
occurs during the
maintenance
window)
All other SMPP error See SMPP Permanent Discard: do not
codes 3.4 retry. If returned in
specification a submit_sm_resp
do not unbind.

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devCentral Document
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Guide for ESME SMPP
Connections to the
AT&T SMS Network

3. Aggregator Requirements
An aggregator is any ESME that accepts messages from third parties for delivery
to the AT&T SMS network. It is the responsibility of the aggregator to ensure that
all messages sent to AT&T meet all the requirements listed in the document.
Store and forward The aggregator must provide a store and forward ability to
MO and MT queue and manage all the traffic to and from all of their
messages
clients.
The Aggregator must accept and store MO messages if their
client is not available. AT&T will discard all rejected MO
messages.
The aggregator will forward MT messages from its clients to
AT&T. If the message is rejected with a temporary error, it
must store the message and retry per AT&T requirements.
Transmission rate The aggregator must control the maximum rate for
and throttling transmitting MT messages to AT&T. If there is a throttle error,
the 15-second pause requirement still applies.
Submit_sm_resp The client should not receive any temporary error codes nor
with error codes control the retrying of temporary errors.
If AT&T rejects the MT with a permanent error, it is
acceptable for the Aggregator to return this error code to the
client. However, the Aggregator is responsible for ensuring
the client does not attempt to retry.
SMPP headers Ensure the SMPP message headers meet all AT&T
requirements and do not cause errors. Each submit_sm must
follow the requirements listed in this document.
Client trouble Provide trouble management to their clients. Under no
management circumstance should the Aggregator’s clients contact AT&T.

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The information contained here is for use by authorized
person only and is not for general distribution
devCentral Document
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Guide for ESME SMPP
Connections to the
AT&T SMS Network

4. Binary Messages
Binary messages are prohibited from transmission across AT&T’s wireless
network, unless specifically authorized by AT&T in writing. Unauthorized binary
messages will be discarded by AT&T without notice to Customer or End User.

AT&T Proprietary
The information contained here is for use by authorized
person only and is not for general distribution
devCentral Document
14975 Rev. 5.0 17