The problem with Internet-based services is that they depend on the very thing most of us are trying to monitor. For reliable SMS you need out-of-band text transmission at least, and ideally out-of-band TCP/IP data. So far cellular modems provide lots of options for the latter, but I've seen few universally-available choices for the former. I plan to check out the Verizon options mentioned here -- the last time I tried to talk to our business exec, they claimed there were no cheap options. -mel ________________________________________ From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> on behalf of Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@meetinghouse.net> Sent: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 1:57 PM To: nanog@nanog.org Subject: Re: SMS gateways There are also services that do it for you. In my day job (Transit related software), we use textmarks.com to provide interactive transit information ("where's my bus" kinds of things) via interactive SMS. Not particularly expensive. On 1/6/16 2:36 PM, David Hubbard wrote:
Hey all, was curious if anyone has opinions on the FoxBox vs SMS Eagle boxes for sending SMS alerts directly to the cell network?
http://www.smsfoxbox.it/en/foxbox-iq.html/ http://www.smseagle.eu/store/en/devices/1-sms-eagle.html
Any alternative options would be appreciated too. I saw Microcom’s iSMS modem mentioned in the list archives but it’s only 2G so likely won’t be viable much longer.
The other question, given the fact that they’re both GSM-based, is whether or not you know if AT&T or T-Mobile have cheap ‘machine’ plans for use by these types of devices. We have all of our OpenGear out of band console servers on Verizon and they have these special ‘machine’ plans for $10/mo with very limited bandwidth, so that has allowed us to deploy a bunch of them without worrying about a huge phone bill.
Thanks,
David
-- In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra