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I Built an SMS Gateway with a $20 Android Phone – Jonno.nz

90 points by jonno-nz

by pnm45678

1 subcomments

As others have pointed out, this kind of automated business use is very much against the T&Cs of carriers, so if you do this heavily you can expect to run into issues.
They can and do detect this kind of thing. In a similar vein there is also a whole industry in "sim boxes". Effectively a box of SIM cards / radio equipment that acts as a server. These can similarly be set up as servers to send SMS through carriers ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_box ), though seemingly the popular use is to bridge VOIP calls to local destinations and sell "minutes" to others. There is also apparently a whole industry in software to manage them. These days that management software allegedly includes measures to have the SIMs behave like humans to evade detection (the sims text each other, browse around, sleep for hours of the day, and so on).

by skrtskrt

3 subcomments

Starting with > Twilio charges around $0.05–0.06 per SMS round-trip
Well - use an dedicated telecom API provider that doesn't squeeze you on pricing uselessly: https://telnyx.com/pricing/messaging
Twilio is the DataDog / Microsoft of telecom APIs. The only reason you buy them is because it's the biggest name, or you have already integrated them so deeply that you're unwilling to rip it out. Their price structure also has a huge floor because they're not a carrier so they have to buy everything from real carriers.
Telnyx is actually a registered carrier so other carriers are forced by law to peer with them at lower prices.
There are other low-cost SMS API providers but AFAIK none are actual carriers and they maintain the cost by only doing messaging and relying on enormous volume to make up for tiny margins - their profitability and therefore longevity are tenuous IMO.

by thunderbong

1 subcomments

There are so many interesting things that can be done with an Android phone. Tomorrow, if the Google Play store decides not to publish this app, I can still install it via the APK file. I wonder how many of these apps will be usable after Google's new rules about sideloading.

by vladsanchez

1 subcomments

* FreeSwitch Messaging API - https://signalwire.com/pricing/messaging
Can/will do the trick for fractions of a penny... B)
Check their UseCases... * https://signalwire.com/products/cloud-messaging#message-use-...
Also, if you're a real PBX nerd, check Asterisk.org which pre-dates and may have sparked if/not powered early-Twilio.

by inhumantsar

1 subcomments

definitely a great setup for development, tho probably a good idea to have the Twilio integration ready to go.
legitimate messages or not, this will look like spam if you get a surprise burst of traffic. and providers will nuke your SIM, maybe blacklist your phone's IMEI, if they suspect you're using it for spam.
also is it weird that "That's its whole life now." made feel a bit sorry for the phone? might be spending too much time in opencode...

by dwedge

0 subcomment

I considered doing something like this, but unless you're running it on your main phone, you also need to factor in the monthly price for a second sim

by jqpabc123

3 subcomments

Unlimited texts.
Nope. Sorry, it is unlimited texts for *personal* use --- as defined by the carrier.
Send "too many" and your account can be suspended.
Some carriers offer an email to SMS gateway so if you can send email, you can skip the $20 Android phone.
https://20somethingfinance.com/how-to-send-text-messages-sms...

by baconomatic

0 subcomment

I used to work at a place about 10 years ago where we had a cluster of six Android devices that we had used for our SMS gateway. At the time it worked fantastic, we eventually rolled off it to a different service. Somehow, we never ran into issues with carrier.

by loloquwowndueo

3 subcomments

Nice ai-written article but what I missed among all the slop is : where do I get a $20 phone?
EDIT: it’s a lie. At the bottom of the page : Dedicated device: Use a cheap Android phone ($100–200) with a prepaid SIM.

by flemhans

0 subcomment

Brings back memories of Gammu hooked up to a Nokia 6150 over serial. It was already questionable back then but never got caught by the telco

0 subcomment

by mindo

1 subcomments

I've done this on symbian phone many many moons ago, for sms and mms messages. We all been there :)

by peter_d_sherman

0 subcomment

Brilliant idea!
Heck, a brilliant potential bootstrapped-from-virtually-nothing-except-a-cell-phone business idea!

by kotaKat

1 subcomments

I can feel the 10DLC violations in the US already running through my blood. You will be eviscerated by the carriers for doing this for anything longer than a single day.
I hope your disaster recovery (or 'didn't realize') strategy includes a drawer full of additional burner Android phones and SIM cards.

by ajsnigrutin

1 subcomments

Easier to just use a usb/minipcie modem and operate directly from the 'server' - no batteries, no OS to crash, no nothing, simple AT commands on linux "middleware" (modemmanager etc.)

by tjpnz

0 subcomment

I worked with a guy (also in NZ) who did something very similar in the 2000s. A Nokia 5180 I believe, on the Telecom Ten Dollar Text plan which was theoretically unlimited (and predictably didn't last long).

by snvzz

1 subcomments

Maybe next he'll learn about sim900 and derivatives.
$20 and full android stack seems a massive waste for this, nevermind unreliable.

by kanehorikawa

0 subcomment

[dead]