Concatenated SMS

A concatenated SMS is a long message split into several SMS reassembled by the handset, each segment holding only 153 characters in GSM-7.

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Definition

A concatenated SMS is a long message split into several SMS reassembled by the handset, each segment holding only 153 characters in GSM-7.

In detail

Beyond 160 characters, the message is split into segments sent separately and reassembled on arrival. The user sees one message, but the network carried several.

Each segment must carry a reassembly header, which takes up room: usable capacity drops to 153 characters per segment in GSM-7, and 67 in UCS-2. That is why staying under 160 characters is the surest way to send as a single message.

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Related terms

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GSM-7 alphabetGSM-7 is the 7-bit alphabet used by default for SMS: it allows 160 characters per message but does not contain every accented character.UCS-2UCS-2 is the 16-bit encoding used when an SMS contains characters missing from GSM-7: capacity then drops to 70 characters per message.

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