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The nature of SMS delivery between network operators and mobile devices is such that a store-and-forward methodology is used. Part of this methodology involves holding on to SMS that can't be delivered (most commonly due to the receiving handset being inactive) and re-attempting delivery repeatedly for the duration of the message's life (also known as its 'validity period').

Previously, when submitting SMS to the network operators, we have always set the validity period to the maximum possible (i.e. 3 days) to give receiving handsets the maximum opportunity to receive the messages that we transmit.

However, feedback from our customers has suggested that the ability to set a validity period that is less than the maximum would be very useful for certain occasions:

• To prevent the possibility of messages being delivered during anti-sociable hours.
• To promote events or offers that also have their own validity periods.

• To keep words such as 'today' and 'tomorrow' within context.

We have therefore begun to provide our customers with the ability to set the validity period of their MT SMS under the (more easily-understood) label of 'Expiration Date/Time'.

At present, this ability is only available for messages being submitted through SMS Online's Web-to-SMS facility, but will also become available in SMS API v2.1 which is soon to be released.

The Knowledge Base has been expanded to include a section dedicated to the Expiration Date/Time and any questions should be directed through our Contact Centre.