The history of SMS messaging started in the 1980s when telecommunication experts started discussing the technical specifications of sending short messages between mobile phones thru a network. This would be known later as GSM services.

These technical discussions culminated in the sending of the first ever SMS message over Vodafone GSM network in the United Kingdom on December 3, 1992. It was said that Neil Papworth, an engineer of Airwide Solutions, sent the first SMS message from his personal computer to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone. The message was a short and sweet "Merry Christmas".

This initial success was later followed in the succeeding year with the successful deployment of SMS messaging services in Norway and UK. In its early history, SMS messaging growth was very slow as GSM customers were only sending 0.4 messsages per month on the average. The reasons for the slow growth were: billing fraud, inefficient charging setups, and non-existent interoperability among the telecom networks.

When these initial problems were addressed, and with the efficient implementation of pre-payment schemes, SMS messaging usage took off in the year 1999. The teenagers were credited as early adopters of SMS messaging followed by adults and business people.

It was now all history, SMS messaging was said to be the triumph of the consumer. What started as a technology used only for alerting a mobile user of a stored voice mail or a technical applications such as telemetry, SMS messaging is now used by all segments of the society.

The high learning curve in using the SMS messaging services spurred a new form of SMS communication which gave rise to abbreviations and acronyms to save time in typing the messages over a small keyboard. Curiously, most of these abbreviations are understood by the majority of the population.

Today, SMS messaging is not only a part of GSM but also available on other networks like 3G. Unlike in its infancy years, SMS now is being used in a wide range of applications: from ringing tones, to information services, American Idol voting, and even fortune telling. Recently, businesses started using SMS broadcasting thru the Internet for its marketing campaigns. Using web-based SMS providers like www.clearsms.com, business owners must have recognized the advantages of SMS over other mode of communications. SMS messaging offers the fastest form of transmission; it can reach areas unreachable by voice services; and at minimal costs.

In its 15-year history, SMS messaging has gone far and wide and deep. Commercially, SMS is a massive industry worth over 80 billion dollars globally. In the coming years, we should see other applications of SMS messaging especially in the areas of business development and marketing. When that happens, make sure your business is not left behind.