What is the difference between "SMS Push" and "WAP Push"?

Question

The terms WAP Push and SMS Push seems to both be used when talking about pushing messages to a mobile application to trigger download of WAP content.

Do the terms refer to the same mechanism or do they have different meaning?

Solution

An SMS Push is a message to tell the terminal to initiate the session. This happens because you can't initiate an IP session simply because you don't know the IP Adress of the mobile terminal. Mostly used to send a few lines of data to end recipient, to the effect of sending information, or reminding of events.

WAP Push is an SMS within the header of which is included a link to a WAP address. On receiving a WAP Push, the compatible mobile handset automatically gives the user the option to access the WAP content on his handset. The WAP Push directs the end-user to a WAP address where content is stored ready for viewing or downloading onto the handset. This wap address may be a page or a WAP site.

The user may “take action” by using a developer-defined soft-key to immediately activate an application to accomplish a specific task, such as downloading a picture, making a purchase, or responding to a marketing offer.

Comments

[Hollister]

This is a very old thread, but in the interests of helping others, this is not correct. The initial message to the mobile device is SMS in both cases. If the recipient initiates the action in the Service Indication (SI), then WAP will be used to download content.

[Etienne Lawlor]

So I can see the content location of the WAP_PUSH_MESSAGE, but how do you actually download the content of the MMS?

[drewsberry]

In the interest of further clarifying this comment, your comment is true for WAP Push Service Indication (SI) messages. For WAP Push Service Load (SL messages), no action is needed on the part of the user to initiate the download of the content. See this link for more information.

[dusoft]

probably too irrelevant / obsoleted by now :-)