Signal & Syntax · Messaging and A2P

What Is an SMS Segment?

An SMS segment is one part of a message split across two or more SMS. Each segment is billed as one SMS and rejoined on the handset.

Also calledconcatenated SMS · multipart SMS · long SMS

Example

161 GSM-7 characters → 2 segments

SMS Segment in Practice

A user data header (UDH) in each segment tells the handset how to rejoin the parts. The header takes six bytes, which is why GSM-7 drops from 160 to 153 per segment. UCS-2 drops from 70 to 67. A 161-character GSM-7 message costs two segments.

Where ScoreMachine Fits

ScoreMachine

The SMS Segment Counter counts segments as you type.

Related Terms

GSM-7 GSM-7 is the default 7-bit SMS alphabet. UCS-2 UCS-2 is the 16-bit SMS encoding for characters outside GSM-7. SMS SMS (Short Message Service) is the text messaging service built into mobile networks. Delivery receipt A delivery receipt (DLR) is the status report an operator returns for each SMS.

Read the Guide

Guide

GSM-7, UCS-2 and SMS Segments Explained

How one character changes the segment count. Read the guide →

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