MMS Architecture

Last updated

The MMS Architecture is the set of standards used by the Multimedia Messaging Service in mobile networks. The standards are prepared by 3GPP.

Contents

Overview

MMSC Reference Architecture MMSCNA.png
MMSC Reference Architecture

The standard consists of a number of interfaces between components found in the mobile network:

MM1

MM1 is the interface between a Mobile Station (MS) and an MMSC.

MM1 is used in the following actions:

The MM1 interface is based on the WAP protocol. It includes the PAP notifications that are transformed to SMS's by the WAP gateway for the notifications.

MM2

MM2 is an interface between a MMS Relay (MMS-R) and an MMS storage database, two components of an MMSC platform.

MM3

MM3 is the interface between MMSC and external servers such as Email server or SMS Centers SMSC. This interface typically uses TCP/IP based protocols for e.g. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol ( SMTP )

Generally, it is the responsibility of MMSC to do the transformation of MMS multi-part binary data to MIME format of email in both the direction

MM3 is used in the following actions:

MM4

MM4 is the interface used to exchange messages between two different MMSCs. These MMSCs are generally located in two distinct Mobile Networks

This interface is also known as the MMSR interface in the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standards.

MM5

MM5 is the interface between MMSC and other network elements like HLR or Domain Name Server. The communication over MM5 Interface is generally to fetch the routing information. MM5 has been defined by the 3GPP in TS 23.140 as a simple reference to Mobile Application Part.

MM7

MM7 is the interface between MMSC and a value-added service provider (VASP).

The MM7 interface is used to send MMS from 3rd party providers (e.g., a bank sending a statement or an advertiser sending publicity). It is based on SOAP with attachments, using HTTP as the transport protocol. HTTP request shall be a POST.

The message is a MIME which encapsulates the SOAP envelope and the encoded attachments. The SOAP envelope is an XML where tags are the MM7 protocol data.

MM11

MM11 is specified by OMA STI (Standard Transcoding Interface) 1.0. [1] MM11 is designed to ensure compatibility of transcoders with MMSCs.

Integration with a transcoder without using MM11 is possible by implementing the transcoder as a proxy server. By placing the transcoder on the MM1 interface between the user equipment and the MMSC, messages can be transparently transcoded. A possible disadvantage of this implementation is that transcoders are typically licensed in transactions per second. All transactions will be sent through the transcoder, rather than just those marked to allow adaptations.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. Mail servers and other message transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages. User-level email clients typically use SMTP only for sending messages to a mail server for relaying, and typically submit outgoing email to the mail server on port 587 or 465 per RFC 8314. For retrieving messages, IMAP is standard, but proprietary servers also often implement proprietary protocols, e.g., Exchange ActiveSync.

SMS Text messaging service component

SMS is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet, and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text messages. An intermediary service can facilitate a text-to-voice conversion to be sent to landlines.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network. Users and providers may refer to such a message as a PXT, a picture message, or a multimedia message. The MMS standard extends the core SMS capability, allowing the exchange of text messages greater than 160 characters in length. Unlike text-only SMS, MMS can deliver a variety of media, including up to forty seconds of video, one image, a slideshow of multiple images, or audio.

The GPRS core network is the central part of the general packet radio service (GPRS) which allows 2G, 3G and WCDMA mobile networks to transmit IP packets to external networks such as the Internet. The GPRS system is an integrated part of the GSM network switching subsystem.

Network switching subsystem (NSS) is the component of a GSM system that carries out call out and mobility management functions for mobile phones roaming on the network of base stations. It is owned and deployed by mobile phone operators and allows mobile devices to communicate with each other and telephones in the wider public switched telephone network (PSTN). The architecture contains specific features and functions which are needed because the phones are not fixed in one location.

OMA SpecWorks, previously the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is a standards organization which develops open, international technical standards for the mobile phone industry. It is a nonprofit Non-governmental organization (NGO), not a formal government-sponsored standards organization as is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): a forum for industry stakeholders to agree on common specifications for products and services.

The IP Multimedia Subsystem or IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) is a standardised architectural framework for delivering IP multimedia services. Historically, mobile phones have provided voice call services over a circuit-switched-style network, rather than strictly over an IP packet-switched network. Alternative methods of delivering voice (VoIP) or other multimedia services have become available on smartphones, but they have not become standardized across the industry. IMS is an architectural framework that provides such standardization.

A value-added service (VAS) is a popular telecommunications industry term for non-core services, or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. However, it can be used in any service industry, for services available at little or no cost, to promote their primary business. In the telecommunications industry, on a conceptual level, value-added services add value to the standard service offering, spurring subscribers to use their phone more and allowing the operator to drive up their average revenue per user. For mobile phones, technologies like SMS, MMS and data access were historically usually considered value-added services, but in recent years SMS, MMS and data access have more and more become core services, and VAS therefore has begun to exclude those services.

The Mobile Application Part (MAP) is an SS7 protocol that provides an application layer for the various nodes in GSM and UMTS mobile core networks and GPRS core networks to communicate with each other in order to provide services to users. The Mobile Application Part is the application-layer protocol used to access the Home Location Register, Visitor Location Register, Mobile Switching Center, Equipment Identity Register, Authentication Centre, Short message service center and Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN).

Push Proxy Gateway

A Push Proxy Gateway is a component of WAP Gateways that pushes URL notifications to mobile handsets. Notifications typically include MMS, email, IM, ringtone downloads, and new device firmware notifications. Most notifications will have an audible alert to the user of the device. The notification will typically be a text string with a URL link. Note that only a notification is pushed to the device; the device must do something with the notification in order to download or view the content associated with it.

An SMS gateway or MMS gateway allows a computer to send or receive text messages in the form of Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) transmissions between local and/or international telecommunications networks. In most cases, SMS and MMS are eventually routed to a mobile phone through a wireless carrier. SMS gateways are commonly used as a method for person-to-person to device-to-person communications. Many SMS gateways support content and media conversions from email, push, voice, and other formats.

The Motorola Ming is a series of smartphones from Motorola, sold in Hong Kong and mainland China only. It is one of the series in the 4LTR line.

Nokia E65

The Nokia E65 is a smartphone in the Eseries range, a S60 platform third edition device with slide action. It shared many of the features of the N95 released around the same time, but thinner, lighter and without the GPS. It was followed fairly quickly by the E66, which was very similar but gained an FM radio, a newer release of S60, A2DP bluetooth, GPS and 3.2 mpixel camera.

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, or USSD is a communication protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider's computers. A gateway is the collection of hardware and software required to interconnect two or more disparate networks, including performing protocol conversion.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network. A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that use the protocol. Introduced in 1999, WAP achieved some popularity in the early 2000s, but by the 2010s it had been largely superseded by more modern standards. Almost all modern handset internet browsers now fully support HTML, so they do not need to use WAP markup for web page compatibility, and therefore, most are no longer able to render and display pages written in WML, WAP's markup language.

The Short Message Service is realised by the use of the Mobile Application Part (MAP) of the SS7 protocol, with Short Message protocol elements being transported across the network as fields within the MAP messages. These MAP messages may be transported using "traditional" TDM based signalling, or over IP using SIGTRAN and an appropriate adaptation layer.

System Architecture Evolution (SAE) is the core network architecture of mobile communications protocol group 3GPP's LTE wireless communication standard.

SMS Home Routing is a modification to the original GSM specifications that changed the way inbound (off-net) SMS messages are treated by mobile telecommunications networks. Adopted by the 3GPP in 2007, Home Routing was devised to enable mobile networks to offer a full range of advanced services on both inbound and outbound SMS, giving more utility to phone users and enabling operators to generate additional revenue.

Generic Bootstrapping Architecture

Generic Bootstrapping Architecture (GBA) is a technology that enables the authentication of a user. This authentication is possible if the user owns a valid identity on an HLR or on an HSS.

Nokia 2600 classic

The Nokia 2600 classic is a Nokia Dual-band GSM phone E900/1800 or E850/1900 that includes a VGA camera, FM radio, Bluetooth, E-mail and mobile Internet access via a WAP browser. Additionally, the Nokia 2600 supports MMS and Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging, for recording and editing messages on the go.

References