Question
How are SMS and MMS usage charges determined?
Applies To
- 8x8 Work
- SMS / MMS Messaging
Answer
Mobile Carriers bill SMS and MMS based on the number of segments (groups of characters) contained in a message. There is no limit on the number of messages that can be sent, as messages are charged on character count.
The way segments are broken down depends on the character coding that is used when a message is sent. This can be impacted depending on the content of the message. We’ve broken down below on a high level how SMS/MMS is broken down in segments below:
Most messages are categorized as either SMS (Short Message Service) or MMS (Multimedia Message Service) when sent/received on a one-to-one basis. Any message that is sent/received in a one-to-many scenario like Group SMS/MMS is considered a MMS.
SMS Segmentation
- SMS using standard GSM 7-bit is limited to 160 Characters for single segments and 153 for multiple segments.
- Emoji or special characters uses UCS-2 Encoding which are limited to 70 for single segments and 67 for multiple segments.
- Special characters also include letters with tilts like é
MMS Segmentation
- MMS is any message that contacts some form of media type like photos, video, or audio files.
- MMS limited to 1600 Character
- Group SMS/MMS are all considered MMS and follow MMS Segmentation
- 1MB MMS Size limit (total for actual attachments size allocation may vary)
Examples
Sample Message |
Message Type |
Encoding |
Segments Limits |
Billed Segments |
Hi,I’m following up on your inquiry. |
Alphanumeric SMS |
GSM-7 |
160 |
1 |
Thank you for calling ABC Inc, we have received your inquiry and are processing it now. This will take 5-7 business days. If you need additional assistance please respond with Help. Please respond STOP if you would like to stop receiving messages from ABC Inc. |
Alphanumeric SMS |
GSM-7 |
153 |
2, (total count is 262) |
👋, just following up on you inquiry. |
SMS with Emoji |
UCS-2 |
70 |
1 |
👋, just following up on you inquiry. If you need additional assistance please respond with Help. Please respond STOP if you would like to stop receiving messages from ABC Inc. |
SMS with Emoji |
UCS-2 |
67 |
3, (total count as 175) |
Hola, cómo estás? |
Unicode |
UCS-2 |
70 |
1 |
¿Hola, cómo estás? Por favor responda si desea información adicional sobre su consulta. |
Unicode |
UCS-2 |
67 |
2, (total as 87) |
Billing Segment Breakdown
Message Type |
Character Limit |
Billed Segment |
Alphanumeric SMS (GSM-7) |
1-160 |
1 |
Multi Segment Alphanumeric SMS (GSM-7) |
161-306 |
2 |
SMS with Emoji or special characters (UCS-2) |
1-70 |
1 |
Multiple SMS with Emoji or special characters (UCS-2) |
71-134 |
2 |
MMS with Attachment (image, audio/video, document files) |
1-1600 |
1 |
MMS with Attachment and Emojis or Special Characters (image, audio/video, document files) |
1-1600 |
1 |
Group SMS/MMS |
1-1600 |
1 (MMS Rate) per recipient |
Group SMS/MMS with Attachment and Emojis or Special Characters (image, audio/video, document files) |
1-1600 |
1 (MMS Rate) per recipient |