3G

3G is third-generation technology in the context of mobile phone standards. The services associated with 3G include wide-area wireless voice and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment. In marketing 3G services, video-telephone is often identified as a primary application for 3G.
back to top

Application Provider

Application providers provide the technology platform for common short code service applications.
back to top

Carrier

Shorthand for wireless carrier, carriers provide the network infrastructure for the delivery of messages between end users and connection aggregators or application providers.
back to top

Click to Call

A link on a mobile Web site (WAP site) that, when clicked, instantly initiates a call from that phone to a pre-specified number.
back to top

Common Short Code Administrator (CSCA)

The entity that oversees the registration, assignment and tracking of CSCs.
back to top

Connection Aggregator

Connection aggregators provide connectivity between carrier networks and application providers.
back to top

Content Provider

Content providers are entities that own or have the rights to content. They often license content to application providers for delivery to end users.
back to top

CSC

CSC is the abbreviation for common short code.
back to top

End User

Another term for wireless subscriber, end users are people and/or entities that utilize short codes for communication with applications.
back to top

Flash Lite

Flash Lite is the profile of the Flash Player designed for mobile phones and consumer electronic devices. It enables mobile application developers and designers to create rich, engaging content and applications, and customized user interfaces across device platforms.
back to top

Keyword

A keyword is a unique word (or number) that is created for a specific short code campaign. Multiple keywords can be used on a single short code active during a single period. The keyword is the actual text that a user keys in on their mobile phone to interact with a campaign.
back to top

LBS (Location Based Services)

Location-based services are offered by some cell phone networks as a way to send custom advertising and other information to cell-phone subscribers based on their current location. The cell-phone service provider gets the location from a GPS chip built into the phone, or using radiolocation and trilateration based on the signal-strength of the closest cell-phone towers (for phones without GPS features).
back to top

Messaging Fees

Each time an SMS is sent, both the sender and receiver are charged a messaging fee by the wireless carrier. The messaging fees vary by carrier and volume. SMS messaging credits can be purchased in volume to reduce costs.
back to top

Mobile Marketing

A form of marketing that generally uses SMS, MMS or WAP Push to deliver its promotion to mobile phones or other mobile devices. Like outdoor, print or interactive marketing, mobile marketing is simply another tactic marketers can use to reach a target audience.
back to top

Mobile Originated (MO)

An SMS or MMS message that was originated on a mobile phone.
back to top

MO message

A mobile-originated message, meaning an SMS or text message sent from a mobile phone. These messages are sent by a mobile subscriber by creating and sending the message from within their mobile phone.
back to top

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

MMS is a type of messaging that enables the sending of multimedia objects (images, audio, video) as opposed to the simple text enabled by Short Message Service (SMS) messages.
back to top

MMS

See Multimedia Messaging Service
back to top

MMS Marketing

A form of mobile marketing that utilizes MMS (Multimedia Message Service) to send images, video, sound files and text messages between mobile phones and other handheld devices.
back to top

Mobile Terminated (MT)

An SMS or MMS message that was terminated (sent) to a mobile phone. The message may have originated from another mobile phone or from a web server, PC or other fixed device.
back to top

MT message

A mobile-terminated message, meaning an SMS or text message terminated on a mobile phone. These messages are typically viewed by the recipient in their text message ‘Inbox’.
back to top

MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator)

An MVNO is a Mobile Operator, which does not possess its own telecom network. An MVNO has its own SIM cards and purchases wholesale minutes from a Mobile Network Operator. An MVNO is free to apply its own pricelists and services, and manage its own invoicing and customer services.
back to top

OPT-IN

Opt-in is a way of collecting mobile and Internet users’ personal data. Within the opt-in context, user acceptance is necessary before any mobile marketing solicitation.
back to top

Pull messaging

Describes the process where a person initiates a request from his/her mobile phone.
back to top

Push messaging

Describes the mailing of information (SMS/MMS), directly on the consumer’s mobile phone and under the condition that his/her acceptance has been given.
back to top

Random CSC

A CSC (Common Short Code) that is assigned by the CSCA Registry on a random basis from the pool of available CSCs.
back to top

Selected CSC

A CSC (Common Short Code) that the applicant/registrant specifically requests from the CSCA Registry. Selected CSCs are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis from the pool of available CSCs.
back to top

Shared Short Code

A short code that that used for multiple marketing campaigns through the leasing of keywords to different entities.
back to top

Short Code

A short code is a special telephone number, significantly shorter than full telephone numbers, which can also be used to address SMS and MMS messages from mobile or fixed phones. While similar to telephone numbers, they are, at the technological level, unique to each operator, although providers generally have agreements to avoid overlaps. Short codes are widely used for value-added services such as interactive voting, ordering ringtones and other mobile services.
back to top

Short Message Service (SMS)

SMS is a service available on most digital mobile phones that permits the sending of short messages (160 characters) between mobile phones and other handheld devices. SMS is commonly referred to as text messaging.
back to top

SMS

See Short Message Service.
back to top

SMS Marketing

A form of Mobile Marketing that utilises SMS to deliver its promotion.
back to top

Text Message

See Short Message Service.
back to top

WAP

See Wireless Application Protocol.
back to top

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

An open international standard for applications that use wireless communication. Its principal application is to enable access to the Internet from a mobile phone or PDA. Mobile internet sites, or WAP sites, are websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser.
back to top

WAP Push

A form of mobile marketing that utilizes WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) to push a specific WAP URL to a phone as a service message. This provides the recipient with access to media rich content via their WAP provider.
back to top

WAP Push messaging

An SMS message which includes a clickable WAP link.
back to top

WAP Site

A Web site that is specifically designed and formatted for display on a mobile device.
back to top

Wireless Markup Language (WML)

A markup language based on XML, used to develop wireless applications.
back to top

WML

See Wireless Markup Language.
back to top