NowSMS MMSC

Training:
MMS Protocol Overview
NOVEMBER 2015
©2015 NOW WIRELESS LIMITED

NOWSMS MMSC TRAINING: MMS PROTOCOL OVERVIEW – © 2015 NOW WIRELESS 1

MMS Overview
MMS Architecture Overview
MMS Delivery Process
Integration With Other Network Components
◦ SMS - SMPP
◦ User Authentication - WAPGW / RADIUS / ICAP
◦ Accounting & Charging - HTTP / DIAMETER
◦ MNP & Message Routing

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MMSC (MMS Centre)
Provides store-and-forward MMS Messaging Service for mobile phone
subscribers
Temporarily stores MMS messages awaiting subscriber retrieval
May interconnect with MMSCs for other network operators, either with direct
connections, or via an aggregator
May convert MMS messages to other formats (e.g., SMS with web link) for non-
subscribers or external recipients
May allow MMS submissions from Value Added Service Providers
May apply content adaptation on message content based upon capabilities of
the receiving device

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Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)
Designed to compliment SMS by providing support for multimedia
content
◦ Text
◦ Images
◦ Video
◦ Audio
◦ Contact Objects
◦ Calendar Objects
◦ SMIL Presentation (legacy support)

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MMS and Group Messaging
Supports multiple recipients and group conversations
The biggest driver of MMS message traffic growth has been its use in
modern smartphones for group messaging
Even when the content is text only, MMS is preferred for group
messaging because recipients can reply all, allowing all group
members to see all messages.

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MMS Message Structure
An MMS Message has a similar structure to an SMTP E-Mail Message
Structure based upon SMTP and Multipart Internet Mail Extensions
(MIME)
◦ Envelope – Recipients for in-transit message instance.
◦ Headers – Sender, Displayed Recipients, Subject, other attributes
◦ Content – MIME encoded multipart content. One or more
multimedia objects (text, image, video, etc.)

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MMS Envelope
Routing Attributes (sender and recipient) for an instance of an in-transit
message.
Example: A message is sent to multiple recipients, some of which are subscribers
of a different mobile network. The message may be split by the MMSC for
delivery to another MMSC. The MMS envelope for the message instance sent to
the other MMSC will be only the remote recipients. The envelope list of
recipients tells the other MMSC which recipients to deliver the message to.
The MMS Header will still contain a list of all recipients to provide full group
messaging support.
In MM4/SMTP these are represented by MAIL FROM: / RCPT TO: commands.

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MMS Headers
Sender
Recipients (To/CC/BCC)
Subject
Priority
Message Class (Personal, Advertisement)
Message Type (can be delivery report or read report)

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MMS Content
Multipart (MIME) object containing one or more of the following:
◦ Text
◦ Images
◦ Video
◦ Audio
◦ Contact Objects
◦ Calendar Objects
◦ SMIL Presentation (legacy support)

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MMS Protocols
Overall Architecture: 3GPP TS 23.140
http://www.3gpp.org
Over-the-Air Phone to MMSC: Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) – MMS
Encapsulation Protocol
http://www.openmobilealliance.org
External Connectivity Protocols: 3GPP TS 23.140
◦ MM4 – Interoperator
◦ MM7 – Value Added Service Provider

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MMS Protocols
• MM1 thru MM11
• Some protocols are fully
/ MM9
defined (MM1, MM4,
MM7)
• Other protocols are
loosely defined,
conceptual, and
implementation
dependent
• Defined by 3GPP TS
23.140

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MM1
• Interface between mobile
station and MMSC
/ MM9
• Based on HTTP, WAP Push
and MIME
• MMS content encoded as
MIME payload using
WAP/WSP binary
encoding
• Defined by Open Mobile
Alliance (OMA) – MMS
Encapsulation Protocol

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MM2
• Conceptual interface
between two internal
elements of an MMSC / MM9

• No actual API or protocol

defined
• MMS Relay provides client
interfaces
• MMS Server provides
storage services
• Commercial MMSC
implementations combine
functions

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MM3
• Conceptual interface
between MMSC and
external servers such as E- / MM9
Mail, FAX and Voice Mail
• No actual API or protocol
defined – use of SMTP
suggested

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MM4
• Interface between
multiple MMSCs
/ MM9
• SMTP based protocol
defined by 3GPP TS
23.040
• Additional X-MMS SMTP
headers defined
• Different PDUs mapped to
SMTP headers

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MM5
• Conceptual interface
between MMSC and HLR
for message routing / MM9
lookup
• No actual API or protocol
defined
• HLR lookup does not
provide routing info for
subscriber MMSC
• NowSMS MMSC uses
HTTP-based routing
callbacks

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MM6
• Conceptual interface
MMSC and subscriber
database / MM9

• No actual API or protocol

defined
• NowSMS MMSC uses
HTTP-based accounting
callbacks

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MM7
• Interface between MMSC
and Value Added Service
Provider (VASP) / MM9
applications.
• SOAP/XML/HTTP based
protocol defined by 3GPP
TS 23.040
• MMS content encoded as
MIME payload
• Bi-directional HTTP POST
– MMSC and VASP can
both initiate connections

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MM8 & MM9
• Interface between MMSC
and billing/charging
systems
/ MM9
• Billing generally refers to
post-paid CDR generation
• Charging generally refers to
real time charging required
by pre-paid
• NowSMS MMSC supports
HTTP based accounting
callbacks which some
customers use to generate
CDRs
• NowSMS MMSC supports
DIAMETER Credit Control
or Base Accounting

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MM10
• Interface for message
service control and
filtering / MM9

• Relatively new, no known

commercial
implementations
• DIAMETER based protocol
• Not implemented by
NowSMS MMSC

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MM11
• Conceptual interface
between MMSC and
external transcoder / MM9

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Key Protocols
• MM1 – Phone <-> MMSC
• HTTP POST
• Binary WSP MIME / MM9

• WAP Push

• MM4 – MMSC <-> MMSC

• SMTP / MIME

• MM7 – VASP <-> MMSC

• HTTP POST
• SOAP/XML Request
• MIME MMS Content

• MM9 – Accounting /
Billing / Charging
• HTTP Callbacks
• DIAMETER

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MM1 Overview
MM1 is the over-the-air protocol for MMS message transmission
between a phone and the network.
Defined by Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) – MMS Encapsulation
Protocol
http://www.openmobilealliance.org
Based on HTTP, WAP Push and MIME technologies

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MM1 Protocol Data Units (PDUs)
PDUs are the data elements that are exchanged between a mobile
phone and the MMSC
PDUs are encoded using the MIME type application/vnd.wap.mms-
message
PDUs are transferred as the payload of HTTP requests, HTTP
responses, or WAP push messages
Example (HTTP POST):
POST / HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: application/vnd.wap.mms-message
Content-Length: 99999

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MM1 PDU Kinds
There are three kinds of MM1 PDUs:
1. Request: Denoted as type-name.req
2. Confirmation (Response): Denoted as type-name.conf
3. Indication (notification): Denoted as type-name.ind (not
confirmed)

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MM1 PDU Transmission
When the client needs to send a PDU (Request or Indication) to the
MMSC, it always uses HTTP POST.
◦ If the MMSC receives a Request PDU via HTTP, it generates an
appropriate Confirmation PDU in the HTTP response.
◦ If the MMSC receives an Indication PDU via HTTP, it generates an empty
HTTP OK response (status code 200 or 204).
When the MMSC needs to send a PDU (Indication only) to a client, it
only uses WAP Push.

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WAP 1.x Client Considerations
Older MMS clients based upon the WAP 1.x protocol use the
Wireless Session Protocol (WSP) instead of HTTP.
These clients must use a WAP Gateway which converts between WSP
and HTTP.
The MM1 interface at the MMSC is always HTTP based.

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MM1 PDUs
Transaction PDU Type Name Originated By Transport
Send Message m-send.req (.conf) Client HTTP POST
New Message Received Notification m-notification.ind MMSC WAP PUSH
Acknowledge New Message Received m-notifyresp.ind Client HTTP POST
Notification (optional)
Retrieve Message HTTP GET / m-retrieve.conf Client HTTP GET
Acknowledge Retrieve Message m-acknowledge.ind Client HTTP POST
Complete (optional)
Delivery Report m-delivery.ind MMSC WAP PUSH
Read Report from Client m-read-rec.ind Client HTTP POST
Read Report to Client m-read-orig.ind MMSC WAP PUSH
Forward Message m-forward.req (.conf) Client HTTP POST

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 REVIEW

MMS Message Structure

An MMS Message has a similar structure to an SMTP E-Mail Message
Structure based upon SMTP and Multipart Internet Mail Extensions
(MIME)
◦ Envelope – Recipients for in-transit message instance.
◦ Headers – Sender, Displayed Recipients, Subject, other attributes
◦ Content – MIME encoded multipart content. One or more
multimedia objects (text, image, video, etc.)

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 REVIEW

MMS Envelope
Routing Attributes (sender and recipient) for an instance of an in-transit
message.
Example: A message is sent to multiple recipients, some of which are subscribers
of a different mobile network. The message may be split by the MMSC for
delivery to another MMSC. The MMS envelope for the message instance sent to
the other MMSC will be only the remote recipients. The envelope list of
recipients tells the other MMSC which recipients to deliver the message to.
The MMS Header will still contain a list of all recipients to provide full group
messaging support.
In MM4/SMTP these are represented by MAIL FROM: / RCPT TO: commands.

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 REVIEW

MMS Headers
Sender
Recipients (To/CC/BCC)
Subject
Priority
Message Class (Personal, Advertisement)
Message Type (can be delivery report or read report)
Message ID

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 REVIEW

MMS Content
Multipart (MIME) object containing one or more of the following:
◦ Text
◦ Images
◦ Video
◦ Audio
◦ Contact Objects
◦ Calendar Objects
◦ SMIL Presentation (legacy support)

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 REVIEW

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MM1 Message Encoding
No MMS Envelope: All recipients are in MMS Headers
The MMS Encapsulation Protocol defines the MIME type
application/vnd.wap.mms-message, which consists of headers and an
optional content body.
MMS Headers are encoded in a binary format, following the WAP Session
Protocol (WSP)
◦ WSP defines a single byte code for common header names and values to
reduce message size
◦ X-MMS-Message-Type: m-retrieve.conf reduces from a 36 character string to
two bytes: 8C 84

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MM1 Message Encoding
MMS Content is encoded as multipart MIME object.
The multipart object is are encoded in a binary format, following the
WAP Session Protocol (WSP)
◦ application/vnd.wap.multipart.related is used in place of
multipart/related
◦ application/vnd.wap.multipart.mixed is used in place of
multipart/mixed

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 1 Gateway
Receiver
Sender activates data
connection to MMS SMSC
APN
(APN setting configured
in the phone) Mobile
Network MMSC

WAP GW or
Sender HTTP Proxy

ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 2 Gateway
Receiver
GGSN sends RADIUS
accounting message to SMSC
notify the network
about the device IP
assignment.
Mobile
WAP Gateway or ICAP Network MMSC
server maintains table
1
of active device IP
addresses.
WAP GW or
Sender HTTP Proxy
RADIUS

2
ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 3 Gateway
Receiver
Sending phone submits an
MM1 m-send.req to the
MMSC. (MMSC Server SMSC
URL configured in phone.)
MMSC receives m- m-send.req
send.req in HTTP POST Mobile
Network HTTP POST MMSC
Phone may submit:
3
• WAP1/WSP POST via 1
WAPGW
• WAP2/HTTP POST via WAP GW or
Proxy Sender HTTP Proxy
RADIUS
• HTTP POST direct to
MMSC 2
ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 4 Gateway
Receiver
MMSC must identify
and authenticate SMSC
sender
MM1 does not define
m-send.req
how this is done Mobile
Network HTTP POST MMSC
Two options: 3
1
• WAPGW or HTTP
Proxy inserts X-
WAP GW or
MSISDN HTTP header Sender HTTP Proxy
RADIUS
• MMSC requests ICAP
MSISDN using ICAP 2 4b
ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 5 Gateway
Receiver
The MMSC accepts and
processes the content of
the MMS message. If to a SMSC
local recipient, the MMSC
stores and makes it
available as a dynamically m-send.req
generated URL link. Mobile
Network HTTP POST MMSC
The MMSC generates an 3
MMS notification message 1
(m-notification.ind), which
is sent via WAP Push over
SMS to the recipient(s). WAP GW or
This MMS notification Sender HTTP Proxy
RADIUS
message contains a URL ICAP
pointer to the dynamically
generated MMS content. 2 4b
ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 5 (continued) Gateway
m-notification.ind
Receiver
m-notification.ind WAP PAP
push may be submitted SMSC 5
to a Push Proxy SMS SMPP
Gateway using the Push
Access Protocol (PAP) m-send.req
Mobile
Or it may be encoded Network HTTP POST MMSC
directly to SMS format 3
1
and submitted using
SMPP
WAP GW or
SMS message generated Sender
RADIUS
HTTP Proxy
is usually a 2 part long ICAP
message 2 4b
ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 6 Gateway
Receiver
The recipient phone
activates data connection to
MMS APN. (APN setting SMSC
configured in the phone) 6
The recipient phone HTTP GET
performs an HTTP (or WSP) Mobile
GET to retrieve the MMS Network m-retrieve.conf MMSC
message content URL from
the MMSC.
The HTTP response is the
MMS message in an m- WAP GW or
retrieve.conf PDU. Sender HTTP Proxy

ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 7 Gateway
m-delivery.ind
Receiver
If the sender requested a PAP
delivery report, the MMSC
generates an MMS delivery SMSC 7
SMS SMPP
report (m-delivery.ind), 6
which is sent via WAP Push
over SMS to the original HTTP GET
sender. Mobile
Network m-retrieve.conf MMSC

WAP GW or
Sender HTTP Proxy

ICAP

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MM1 Transaction: Push Proxy
Step 8 Gateway
m-read-orig.ind
Receiver
If the sender requested a PAP
read report, the receiver
may generate a report (m- SMSC 9
SMS SMPP
read-rec.ind) when the 8
subscriber reads the
message. (This is dependent HTTP POST
on client configuration.) Mobile
Network m-read-rec.ind MMSC
The MMSC translates the
format of the read report
(m-read-orig.ind), which is
sent via WAP Push over SMS
WAP GW or
to the original sender. HTTP Proxy
Sender

ICAP

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MMS MO (Mobile-Originated) Flow
1. Sender activates data connection to MMS APN. (APN setting configured in the phone)
2. GGSN sends RADIUS accounting message to notify the network about the device IP
assignment.
3. Sending phone submits an MM1 m-send.req to the MMSC. (MMSC Server URL configured in
phone.)
4. MMSC must identify and authenticate sender (X-MSISDN header inserted by WAPGW or
ICAP)
5. The MMSC accepts and processes the content of the MMS message. If to a local recipient,
the MMSC stores and makes it available as a dynamically generated URL link.

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MMS MT (Mobile-Terminated) Flow
1. The MMSC generates an MMS notification message (m-notification.ind), which is sent via
WAP Push to the recipient(s). This MMS notification message contains a URL pointer to the
dynamically generated MMS content.
2. The recipient phone activates data connection to MMS APN. (APN setting configured in the
phone)
3. The recipient phone performs an HTTP (or WSP) GET to retrieve the MMS message content
URL from the MMSC.
4. Delivery report and/or read report activity may occur

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What is WAP Push?
SMS supports a concept of port numbers to allow applications to
register to receive messages that are sent to a specific port number.
(WAP Push uses SMS port number 2948)
WAP Push messages are binary messages that can contain different
binary content types, one of which is an MMS notification type.
When this MMS notification message is received, the phone routes it
to the MMS client for processing.

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About WAP Push
WAP Push plays a key role in the MMS delivery process.
By default, the NowSMS MMSC expects to be able to send MMS Notification via
its built-in WAP Push Proxy Gateway (PPG), which delivers MMS Notifications
using WAP Push over SMS.
For GSM/UMTS/WCDMA environments, NowSMS automatically generates UDH
(user data header) in the SMS messages.
For CDMA/CDMA2000 environments, the NowSMS SMPP implementation
supports WDP Adaptation so that MMS notification messages can be delivered
via SMS using the WAP teleservice.
For other environments, NowSMS can use the Push Access Protocol (PAP) to
send MMS notification messages via a separate WAP Push Proxy Gateway (PPG).

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MM1 User Authentication Issues
The MM1 Protocol does not define how the MMSC identifies and
authenticates the subscriber when the MMS client on a mobile
device sends or receives a message.
The MMSC is expected to interface with other operator network
components to identify and authenticate the subscriber.

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HTTP Header Enrichment
MMS clients send HTTP POST requests to the MMSC over TCP/IP.
Accepted industry practice is to use HTTP Header Enrichment
services to insert additional HTTP headers into these requests to
provide user identification and authentication.
For example, the subscriber MSISDN, is frequently inserted into one
of the following headers:
◦ X-MSISDN:
◦ msisdn:
◦ X-MDN:
◦ X-Device-MIN:

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Who performs HTTP Header
Enrichment?
The first IP-based mobile operator services were based on WAP
technologies, where a WAP Gateway acted as a proxy for all IP-based
services.
These WAP gateways often performed HTTP Header Enrichment to
allow IP-based services to identify subscribers.
The usual process is to configure the GGSN to send RADIUS
Accounting messages to the WAPGW every time a subscriber
connects to or disconnects from the GGSN. The WAPGW maintains a
table of active connections that allow it to map IP addresses to
device phone number for HTTP Header Enrichment.

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HTTP Header Enrichment without a GW
As mobile usage has grown, gateways and proxies have become
network bottlenecks.
The ICAP protocol allows an HTTP based service to request HTTP
Header Enrichment on demand, without forcing clients to interface
through a gateway or proxy.
The NowSMS MMSC can be configured to request HTTP HHE via
ICAP, and NowWAP can be configured to provide this ICAP based
service.

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MM4 – MMSC Interconnect
The MM4 protocol is used to interconnect MMSCs.
• SMTP based protocol defined by 3GPP TS 23.040
• Additional X-MMS SMTP headers are defined
• Different PDUs are mapped to SMTP headers
When a subscriber sends an MMS message to a subscriber on a
different network, the MM4 protocol is used to transfer the message
between MMSCs

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MM4 – MMSC Interconnect
MM4 connections can exist directly between mobile operators.
Frequently a single MM4 connection to an interconnect provider is
used.
MM4 is not used for roaming, only for interconnect.

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MM4 Message Encoding
The MMS Envelope contains Routing Attributes (sender and recipient) for
an instance of an in-transit message. In MM4, this envelope is represented
by the standard SMTP MAIL FROM: and RCPT TO: commands.
The MMS Headers are represented as SMTP Headers, with MMS specific
headers prefixed by X-MMS- (e.g., X-MMS-Message-Type:). These headers
are defined in 3GPP TS 23.140.
The MMS Content is encoded as a standard SMTP MIME multipart object.
Note that even if there is only a single content object (e.g., image only),
many implementations still expect a MIME multipart with only 1 part.

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Sample MM4
Transaction
SMTP AUTH is optional
and rarely used

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Sample MM4
Message

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MM4 PDU Kinds
There are two kinds of MM4 PDUs:
1. Request: Denoted as MM4_type-name.REQ
2. Response: Denoted as MM4_type-name.RES
(Often referred to as ACKs or acknowledgments)

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MM4 PDU Transmission
MM4 PDUs are sent using SMTP.
Because the SMTP protocol is uni-directional and contains limited
status report capability, requests and their associated response can
never be transmitted over the same connection,
When an MMSC has a request to transmit to another MMSC over
MM4, it initiates an SMTP connection to that MMSC to transfer the
request PDU.
The receiving MMSC must then initiate an SMTP connection back to
the requesting MMSC to transfer the response PDU.

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MM4 PDUs
Transaction PDU Type Name
Send Message MM4_forward.REQ
MM4_forward.RES
Delivery Report MM4_delivery_report.REQ
MM4_delivery_report.RES
Read Report MM4_read_reply_report.REQ
MM4_read_reply_report.RES

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MM4 Transaction:
Simplified
Receiver
Step 1 Mobile MMSC
Network B Network B
Standard MM1 MMS MO
Logic Flow
MM1 m-send.req from
sending client to their
operator MMSC
MM1 m-send.conf confirms
MMSC acceptance of MM1: m-send.req / m-send.conf
message
1
MMSC
Mobile
Sender Network A
Network A

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MM4 Transaction:
Simplified
Receiver
Step 2 Mobile MMSC
Network B Network B
MMSC initiates MM4
connection to other operator
MMSC and uses
MM4_forward.REQ MM4: 2
transaction to transfer MM4_forward.REQ
message. MM4_forward.RES
Other MMSC initiates MM4
connection back to MM1: m-send.req / m-send.conf
originator MMSC and uses 1
MM4_forward.RES MMSC
Mobile
transaction to confirm Sender Network A
Network A
MMSC acceptance of
message

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MM4 Transaction:
Simplified
Receiver
Step 3 Mobile MMSC
Network B Network B
Standard MM1 MMS MT
Logic Flow
3 MM1: m-notification.ind
Receiver MMSC posts MM1 2
m-notification.ind to MM4:
receiving device over WAP MM4_forward.REQ
Push MM4_forward.RES

MM1: m-send.req / m-send.conf

1
MMSC
Mobile
Sender Network A
Network A

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MM4 Transaction:
Simplified HTTP GET / MM1: m-retrieve.conf 4
Receiver
The recipient phone Mobile MMSC
performs an HTTP (or WSP) Network B Network B
GET to retrieve the MMS
message content URL from 3 MM1: m-notification.ind
the MMSC.
MM4: 2
The HTTP response is the MM4_forward.REQ
MMS message in an m- MM4_forward.RES
retrieve.conf PDU.
MM1: m-send.req / m-send.conf
1
MMSC
Mobile
Sender Network A
Network A

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MM4 Transaction:
Simplified HTTP GET / MM1: m-retrieve.conf 4
Receiver
After MMS delivery, if a Mobile MMSC
delivery report was Network B Network B
requested:
Receiver MMSC initiates
MM4 connection to
originator MMSC and issues MM4: 5
MM4_delivery_report.REQ. MM4_delivery_report.REQ
MM4_delivery_report.RES
Originator MMSC initiates
MM4 connection back to
receiver MMSC and uses MM1: m-delivery.ind
MM4_delivery_report.RES 6
transaction to confirm Mobile
MMSC
MMSC acceptance of Sender Network A
delivery report. Network A

MM1 delivery report is

pushed to sender.

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MM4 Transaction:
Simplified MM1: m-read-rec.ind
7
Receiver
After MMS is read, if a read Mobile MMSC
report was requested and Network B
receiver allows read reports: Network B
Receiver posts an MM1 m-
read-rec.ind to their MMSC
Receiver MMSC initiates MM4 MM4: 8
connection to originator MM4_read_reply_report.REQ
MMSC and issues
MM4_read_reply_report.REQ. MM4_read_reply_report.RES
Originator MMSC initiates
MM4 connection back to MM1: m-read-orig.ind
receiver MMSC and uses
MM4_read_reply_report.RES 9
transaction to confirm MMSC MMSC
Mobile
acceptance of delivery report. Sender Network A
Network A
MM1 read report (m-read-
orig.ind)ƒs is pushed to sender.

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MM7 – Value Added Service Providers
• Interface between Value Added Service Provider (VASP)
applications and MMSC.
• SOAP/XML/HTTP POST based protocol defined by 3GPP TS 23.040
• MMS headers encoded as XML document
• MMS content encoded as MIME multipart object
• Bi-directional HTTP POST – MMSC and VASP can both initiate
connections

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MM7 Variations and Interoperability
Early versions of the 3GPP TS 23.140 specification defined MM7 only
as a conceptual protocol.
This lead several vendors to define their own MM7 protocols
(Ericsson, LogicaCMG and Nokia).
Different versions of the MM7 specification have defined more than
10 different XML schemas with some significant differences and
incompatibilities. The most significant problems are related to
international number encoding and sender address formats.

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SOAP = Simple Object Access Protocol
SOAP is a lightweight protocol for the exchange of information in
distributed environments.
SOAP transactions are represented using XML.
A SOAP transaction contains a SOAP header, SOAP body and an
optional SOAP attachment.
MMS headers are encoded in the SOAP header and SOAP body.
MMS content is placed in the SOAP attachment as a MIME multipart.

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SOAP MIME Types
When a SOAP transaction contains only a SOAP header and body (no
MMS content objects), such as a delivery or read report, the MIME
type text/xml is used.
When a SOAP transaction contains a SOAP attachment (one or more
MMS content objects), the MIME type multipart/related is used.
This multipart will always consist of exactly two parts, even if the
MMS message contains more than one content object. One part is
the text/xml SOAP header and body. The other part is a multipart
object containing the MMS content objects. This can be confusing as
one multipart object is nested inside another.

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Sample MM7
Message
The first object in the
outer multipart object is
the SOAP header and
body, which is an XML
document containing
MMS headers

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Sample MM7
Message
(continued)
The second object in
the outer multipart
object is the SOAP
attachment, which
contains the MMS
content objects.
This is a multipart
object encoded inside
another multipart
object.

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MM7 PDU Kinds
There are two kinds of MM7 PDUs:
1. Request: Denoted as MM7_type-name.REQ
2. Response: Denoted as MM7_type-name.RES

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MM7 PDU Transmission
MM7 PDUs are sent using HTTP POST.
The payload of the HTTP request contains the MM7 Request.
The payload of the HTTP response contains the MM7 Response.

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MM7 PDUs
Transaction Flow of Transaction PDU Type Name
Submit Message POST: VASP to MMSC MM7_submit.REQ
Response from MMSC MM7_submit.RES
Deliver Message POST: MMSC to VASP MM7_deliver.REQ
Response from VASP MM7_deliver.RES
Delivery Report POST: MMSC to VASP MM7_delivery_report.REQ
Response from VASP MM7_delivery_report.RES
Read Report POST: MMSC to VASP MM7_read_reply_report.REQ
Response from VASP MM7_read_reply_report.RES
MMSC Error Response from MMSC MM7_RS_error.RES
VASP Error Response from VASP MM7_VASP_error.RES

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MM9 – Billing & Charging Interface
• Billing generally refers to post-paid CDR generation
• Charging generally refers to real time charging required by pre-paid
• NowSMS MMSC supports HTTP based accounting callbacks which
some customers use to generate CDRs (or can be used for real time
charging)
• NowSMS MMSC supports DIAMETER Credit Control or Base
Accounting for real time charging.

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DIAMETER/MM9
NowSMS MMSC implements Diameter Credit Control for charging
based upon the following specifications:
◦ [DIAMBASE] – RFC 3588 – Diameter Base Protocol
◦ [DIAMCCA] – RFC 4006 – Diameter Credit Control Application
◦ [3GPPDIAM] – 3GPP TS 32.299 – 3GPP Diameter Charging Applications
◦ [SCAPv2] – Ericsson CCN SCAPv2

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DIAMETER/MM9 (continued)
[3GPPDIAM] defines a standard format for implementing MMS
charging over Diameter, known as MM9 in the MMS protocol
specifications. While the MMSC preference is to use MM9, it is also
possible to configure the MMSC to use generic charging primitives
defined in [DIAMCCA] in order to facilitate interoperability with a
wider base of charging systems.
Optionally, Diameter extensions defined in Ericsson’s [SCAPv2]
protocol can be enabled.

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DIAMETER/MM9 (continued)
The MMSC Diameter MM9 implementation is highly configurable, with
configuration settings that allow the Diameter requests to be tuned to
meet the requirements of different charging systems. The core Diameter
charging requests use Credit-Control-Request as defined in [DIAMCCA].
Several extension sets are defined that provide additional Diameter
parameters to be include in the charging request.
For maximum flexibility, XML template files are used to define the
underlying Diameter requests, allowing for custom parameters to be
added or deleted as required.
As an example of this flexibility, templates have been created to support
Ericsson SCAPv1, which uses Diameter Base Accounting instead of
Diameter Credit Control.

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DIAMETER/MM9 (continued)
More on the web site at
http://www.nowsms.com/mmsc-diameter-mm9-implementation

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MMSC Accounting Callbacks
MMSC accounting callbacks provide an interface between the NowSMS
MMSC and external billing and charging systems.
These MMSC accounting callbacks are HTTP-based. When accounting
callbacks are enabled, the MMSC will issue HTTP requests to a customer
supplied URL in order to interface with the customer billing and charging
systems.
To enable MMSC accounting callbacks, it is necessary to manually edit the
MMSC.INI configuration file, and define the callback URL under the
[MMSC] section header, using the following configuration parameter:
MMSAccountingURL=http://server/path

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MMSC Accounting Callbacks (continued)
Whenever the MMSC processes an MMS message, it issues an
accounting callback by issuing an HTTP transaction to the callback
URL. Variables describing the MMS transaction are appended to the
MMSAccoutingURL as HTTP GET CGI-style variables, with standard
URL escaping applied for encoding reserved characters.
For example:
http://server/path?PreAuth=Yes&Type=MMSSend&From=%2B44999
9999999&To=%2B447777777777&MsgCount=1

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MMSC Accounting Callbacks (continued)
Most of the accounting callbacks are informational only, and exist to
record charging information after the MMSC has processed a
transaction.
However, there are also pre-authorisation callbacks which occur
before the MMSC processes a transaction. These pre-authorisation
callbacks exist to allow the customer billing system to decide
whether or not the transaction should be allowed. In this scenario,
the callback could check available credit and reject an MMS message
transaction before it is accepted by the MMSC.

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MMSSend PreAuth Callback
This callback is executed when an MMS subscriber, Value Added
Service Provider (VASP) or MMSC interconnect partner, is requesting
to send a message.
This is a “pre-authorisation” request, and does not mean that the
message will actually be accepted by NowSMS for delivery. If
NowSMS cannot successfully connect to the accounting URL, or the
URL returns a response other than a standard “HTTP 200 OK”
response, the user request to send a message will be blocked. A
“PreAuth” request to send a message will also be blocked if the HTTP
response content includes the text “PreAuth=Deny”.

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MMSSend PreAuth Callback (continued)
The following parameter variables may be set for the MMSSend pre-authorisation request:
PreAuth=Yes
The presence of this parameter indicates that this callback is a pre-authorisation request.
Type=MMSSend
The transaction type is MMSSend, indicating that a request is being made to send an MMS message.
From=SenderPhoneNumber
This parameter contains the phone number of the subscriber that is sending the message. Note that URL
escaping rules require the “+” symbol to be encoded as “%2B”.
To=RecipientPhoneNumber (may be a comma delimited list with multiple recipients)
This parameter contains one or more recipient phone numbers. If more than one phone number is present,
this will be a comma delimited list of recipient phone numbers. (Note that URL escaping rules require the
“,” symbol to be encoded as “%2C”.)

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MMSSend PreAuth Callback (continued)
VASPIN=MmscVaspName
This parameter is present if the message is arriving from a Value Added Service Provider or
MMSC interconnect partner. The value of this parameter refers to the account name as defined
in the “MMSC VASP” list.
Note that some versions of NowSMS may preface the MmscVaspName with the text “VASP:”.
VASP=MmscOutboundRoute (may be a comma delimited list if multiple recipients)
This parameter is present if the MMSC has determined that the message must be routed via an
external route for delivery. The value of this parameter refers to the account name as defined in
the “MMSC Routing” list.
If the message is being sent to multiple recipients, this field may contain a comma delimited list
of routes with a route listed for each recipient. If there is a mix of local and remote recipients,
local recipients will have a blank entry within the comma delimited list of routes.

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MMSSend PreAuth Callback (continued)
VASPIN=MmscVaspName
This parameter is present if the message is arriving from a Value Added Service Provider or
MMSC interconnect partner. The value of this parameter refers to the account name as defined
in the “MMSC VASP” list.
Note that some versions of NowSMS may preface the MmscVaspName with the text “VASP:”.
VASP=MmscOutboundRoute (may be a comma delimited list if multiple recipients)
This parameter is present if the MMSC has determined that the message must be routed via an
external route for delivery. The value of this parameter refers to the account name as defined in
the “MMSC Routing” list.
If the message is being sent to multiple recipients, this field may contain a comma delimited list
of routes with a route listed for each recipient. If there is a mix of local and remote recipients,
local recipients will have a blank entry within the comma delimited list of routes.

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MMSSend PreAuth Callback (continued)
MsgCount=####
This parameter specifies the number of recipients for this MMS message transaction.
(Note that the MMSSend PreAuth callback is issued only once if an MMS message is being sent
to multiple recipients. The MMSSend Charging callback, which records billing and charging
information after the MMSC has accepted the message, issues a separate callback for each
recipient.)
Size=####
This parameter specifies the size of the MMS message in bytes.

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MMSSend PreAuth Callback (continued)
Depending on system configuration, additional parameters such as SGSN Address, SGSN MCC
MNC (used to detect roaming subscribers) and IMSI may also be available to the callback. For
information on these parameters, see Detecting Roaming Subscribers at
http://www.nowsms.com/operator-mmsc-accounting-detecting-roaming-subscribers

Additional callback documentation can be found at http://www.nowsms.com/doc/advanced-

configuration-settings/mms-accounting-callbacks

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MM5/MNP/MMS Routing
The NowSMS MMSC implements a dynamic MMS routing callback facility for environments
where more advanced MMS routing capabilities are required.
The standard NowSMS MMSC configuration allows for MMS routing based upon phone number
prefixes. However, in MNP environments, it may be necessary to query HLR or a database to
determine how to properly route an MMS message.
When the MMS Routing callback is enabled in NowSMS, each time the MMSC receives a
message, it will connect to a configurable customer-provided routing callback URL, passing the
message recipient to the URL. The customer provided URL can return a response to indicate that
the message should be routed via a specific route defined in the “MMSC Routing” page of the
NowSMS configuration dialog, or the response can indicate that the message should be rejected.

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MM5/MNP/MMS Routing (continued)
The MMS routing callback URL is defined in the MMSC.INI file, under the [MMSC] section
header:
MMSRoutingURL=http://server.name/path
The variables listed below will be added to the MMSRoutingURL when the URL is executed by
the gateway as HTTP GET (CGI-style) parameters.
Type=MMSRouteCheck (Note: Future “Type” values may be added in the future.)
From=SenderPhoneNumber or e-mail addressVASPIN=VASPname (present if the message was
received via a specific account defined in the “MMSC VASP” list)
To=RecipientPhoneNumber

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MM5/MNP/MMS Routing (continued)
Example:
http://server.name/path?Type=MMSRouteCheck&From=%2B1234567&VASPIN=test&To=%2B99
99999999
(Note: The “%2B” in the above examples is standard URL escaping for the “+” character.)
To specify which of the routes defined in the “MMSC Routing” list should be used to route this
message, the URL must return a standard HTTP 200 OK response, and include the following text
somewhere in the response:
Route=xxxxxxx
“xxxxxxx” should match an “Account Name” defined in the “MMSC Routing” list, or it can use
the predefined values of “Direct” (signifying MMSC Direct Delivery), “WAPPush” (signifying
“Convert to Multimedia WAP Push”), or “BlockMessage” (signifying the MMSC should reject the
message).

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