Version

All

Date

15 Jan 2003

Summary

To receive alphanumeric pages on a cell phone from Argent, there are a number of factors to consider.

First there are two common methods used to send text to a cell phone, SMS and TAP.

SMS stands for Short Message Service.

It is most commonly used in Europe, but is now commonly available in the United States.

Argent can send text pages to an SMS phone by either using a wireless device attached to the server or dialing up to an SMS gateway with a modem.

TAP stands for Tele-Alphanumeric Protocol.

This protocol is more commonly used in the United States.

Argent sends pages via TAP to a cell phone by connecting to a TAP provider with a modem.

The pager service provider host the TAP gateway, and provides the Customer with a dial-up number and a pin number.

Some cell phone service providers now offer phones that support both SMS and TAP, although often with varying degrees of efficiency and reliability.

The advantage to using a dial-up or wireless connection to send an alert, is it provides a “back door” for Argent to send an alert even if the mail server, or even the network is down.

The disadvantage is these alternative connections are slower, and inherently less reliable than standard email and email-to-pager methods.

A common practice among users is to use email as the primary alerting mechanism and to use TAP and/or SMS as a contingency method.

Usually the TAP or SMS alert is sent in conjunction with an Email Alert or included in an escalation policy so that it is used if the primary alerting mechanism has failed.

Technical Background

N/A

Resolution

N/A