A communiqué from Kieran Dolan (Logica Mobile Networks; SMS Forum XML Working Group Chair) announces the release of a draft XML specification for SMS messages, together with an invitation for comments from application developers and protocol users. Supported by a number of operators and telecoms equipment manufacturers, the SFS Forum "is developing an XML specification for sending and receiving SMS ['Short Message Service'] messages. Version 1.0 of the Short Message Application Protocol is now available for public review, though the protocol is still under design and the draft released is by no means frozen. SMAP (Short Message Application Protocol) is an XML-based protocol designed to support SMS submission, delivery and administration. It provides equivalent functionality to a binary protocol such as SMPP V3.4 but using an XML schema as opposed to binary PDU format of SMPP. The protocol has been designed to meet market needs for XML-based applications, but is not intended to be a replacement for SMPP; instead the protocol is an XML alternative and may prove more applicable in certain circumstances. The specification is intended principally for designers and implementers of an SMAP v1.0 interface between a Short Message Gateway (SMG) or a Short Message Centre (SMSC) and an external Application." Formal definition of the protocol is provided in section 5, 'XML/SMPP Document Schema Specification'.

Bibliographic information: Short Message Application Protocol Specification. Version 1.0, Draft 09. 66 pages. "This document defines Version 1.0 of the SMAP protocol. It is intended for designers and implementers of an SMAP v1.0 interface between a Short Message Gateway (SMG) or a Short Message Centre (SMSC) and an external Application."

From the specification introduction: "The SMS Forum, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of SMS within the wireless industry, manages the Short Message Application Protocol (SMAP). The specification and related documentation is available from the SMS Forum Website [at] http://www.smsforum.net/. The Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) is an increasingly popular transport mechanism for sending short messages from web applications to mobile phones. Many service providers implement HTTP interfaces. These interfaces are, however, implementation-specific, may offer only a limited set of functions and frequently do not have a full and formal specification. A number of existing protocols support the transfer of messages between a Short Message Center and External Short Message Entities (ESMEs). These are normally specified as binary protocols accessed over TCP/IP or X.25. It is proposed to define a new text protocol to support application access to message centers and/or messaging gateway nodes over HTTP and other Web protocols. It is further proposed to specify this new protocol in XML. This will allow messages to be specified in a structured format and will also facilitate automatic translation to other messaging formats. This new Short Message Application Protocol (SMAP) is not specified as a one-to-one mapping from any existing binary protocol onto XML elements. It is instead an independent protocol. To ensure completeness, this protocol will be validated to ensure that it is functionally equivalent to the SMS forum's binary access protocol, SMPP version 3.4..."