Frequently Asked Questions regarding this site
Updated 10th May, 2006
Please be sure to read these before e-mailing. Your question may have already been asked and the answer is on this page.

Any e-mails with a question already in here most likely won't be answered.  

Q: What's with the verification code?!
A: The SMS gateway provider has implemented the code in order to prevent spam on their network. The image shown isn't machine readable, so it's use ensures that no automated spamming systems are sending messages.

It does make things a little more inconvenient, but it's not a change that we have any control over.

Messages sent to the gateway via other methods just can't keep up with the volume sent by smsTT.com, so this is the only RELIABLE way for now.

Q: Take off the verification otherwise I'll start using other sites!
A: As mentioned earlier, this wasn't a change implemented by smsTT.com. This is currently the only way to continue providing a FREE, reliable service to you.

Until another reliable way is found to deliver messages, we'll have to use the code.

Q: Is TSTT's SMS gateway back online?
A: No. The TSTT gateway is still down. Messages are being sent via an international gateway. Unfortunately, that gateway only supports Digicel and b-mobile GSM phones, so TDMA cells won't receive messages from this site.

Q: I've received a threatening message from this site. What can I do?
A: Any threats you receive should be reported immediately to us via e-mail at abuse@smstt.com or sms@smstt.com. In order to ensure your privacy, you must supply the following information:
- The cell number it was sent to
- Date and approximate time of the message
- A portion or phrase of the message

Usually, you'll receive a response within 12 hours.

Q: Does TSTT charge to send or receive messages from the Internet?
A: As of Mar 2006, there are NO CHARGES for messages sent or received. As soon as information to the contrary is confirmed, a notice will be placed on the site.

Q: Your site says that the SMS gateway is down, but I can still send messages from my phone to another. What's up with that?
A: Sending messages from phone to phone doesn't use the SMS gateway. The gateway is used only for sending messages to phones via the internet/e-mail. Phone to phone messaging is not affected by the gateway.

Q: What threatening message?
A: The message sent to most post-paid phones on the 15th Sept 2003 seems to have been sent using an "SMS bomber" program that sends the same message out to all phones in sequence. The message was: Aissa...handle.your.REAL.business.before.you.lose.your.daughter...that.is.if.you.still.care. (####)

Q: Why don't you add some colour to the page, make it more interesting?
A: I thought about adding colour and graphics to the page to make it look like a cell phone, but then I thought that this would slow the site down while people wait for images to load. It'd also send up the cost of hosting the page with tens of thousands of users downloading images. That's the official reason. The real reason is that my creative bone is broken. I prefer a lean, quick loading, functional page.

Q: Is this page in any way connected with TSTT?
A: No. I don't work for TSTT. This page is also not a part of TSTT's service. The only connection with TSTT is that it uses their publicly accessible SMS gateway.

Q: Can I send messages to cell phones outside of Trinidad and Tobago?
A: Not with this site. In order to send a message to another service, you'll need to find the web page of the intended recipient's service provider. e.g. to send a message to a T-Mobile user in the USA, a good place to check would be the T-Mobile web site (www.tmobile.com).

Q: Why don't you queue the messages even if the SMS gateway is not available?
A: When the SMS gateway goes down, there's no notice of when it will be back up. It could be minutes, hours or even days. In rare instances, the gateway could be down for weeks. With over 15,000 messages being sent per day, that would mean queueing up all those messages and retrying delivery periodically until they can be delivered, or until it expires (after 4 days). This would be a huge toll on bandwidth, storage space, and CPU time.

So to avoid all this, the system simply prevents messages from being added if they can't be immediately delivered.

Q: How does the program work?
A: Sorry. Can't give out too many details on this. In essence, the data from the web form is made into an e-mail message and sent out to the gateway. Messages can be sent to any TSTT cell by sending an e-mail to 868#######@tstt.smstt.com (where ### is the cell number).

Q: Can I send messages using different/fancy fonts?
A: Cell phone messaging is a very simple technology. The phones only accept plain text and don't have any ability to show other fonts or highlights. Special characters usually won't get delivered properly either.

Q: The preview for the number of messages that will be sent isn't accurate!
A: I know. I just did it as a quick guide. Sooner or later I'll get around to accounting for the multiple times that the "From" header goes out, as well as the "->>" indicater added to multiple messages.

Q: How much is it to advertise on your site?
A: See http://www.smstt.com/banner.php.

Q: I'm not seeing an answer to my question, or I just want to leave a (good) comment.
A: You can contact me via email at sms@williams.co.tt or via 'SMS' in the To: field.

 

Back to the SMS site


Comments to sms@williams.co.tt
or send a message to "SMS".