(keitai-l) Re: Roaming Abroad

Hi all;

    Originally SMS-like (phone number mail) was available on 3 of the 4 major carriers in Japan, but
because SMS in Japan "doubles" as email.... people started getting spammed to
their phone numbers.  Spammers just had to go through all phone number combos
with carrier extensions to find them.  (There was a Japanese TV special on
it in Japanese way back).

    So the 3 carriers: JPhone, AU and TuKa, made their users change the "SMS"
or in some cases "SMS-like email" addresses that used the phone number to wacky names.
In some cases where the name was very wacky spam stopped (like mine) but most
people still got spam and the battle continued.......  Don't you all remember all
those snail mail letters we got to change our emails from 090XXXXXXXX@XXXXX.ne.jp
to a new NAME to protect us form SPAM.

    So originally it was tried but because SMS and email were so integrated it failed
to last for long in Japan.

    Perhaps DoCoMo also originally used phone numbers.... I don't quite recall...
I don't think they did.

    Anyway that's the reason it doesn't work here..... the SMS was implemented differently.,...

    But users of Vodaphone (not sure it you still can on Softbank) and TuKa could SMS (Skymail)
each other... and AU has its own SMS network (Cmail)  as well within AU phones.  Buts its an
inclusive network(s) unlike normal SMS.

    But phones from other countries CAN email to Japan's mobile email network.  Verizon's
SMSes turn into emails when they go to Japan (and vice versa).  So the user can be obvious to
the fact that they can't SMS Japan cause it seems to the user that they can cause
Verzion does the conversion for them.... more or less......

    So it gets quite confusing what is SMS and what isn't, since it is sometimes
converted on the carrier side in some form.

****
    So in short what I am trying to say is that Japan used to have the phone number
methodology but it was scraped due to innovative (and evil) Japanese spammers.
****

PS.... In working in the US.,.... I've had more than a few cases of lost SMS even when the phone
says it was sent (you can check in the out box).  I have no idea how they get lost but they do
if you SMS a lot especially if you use the same BODY and SUBJECT and try and send it twice.
Sometimes for some systems it is necessary to do this.....
    So... in real systems...... with SMS you are required to offer to resend content.....blah blah blah.......

--
-Paul Lester
pbl1@cornell.edu
paul@thetamusic.com
http://members.tripod.com/~pbl1/
--Its in every one of us to be wise...
we can all love ev'rything without
ever knowing why...its in every one
of us...