With the exception of some Nokia ringtones and logos, it is not possible to send a ringtone, logo, game or any other content via SMS.

To get around this restriction, WAP Push Service Indicators are used. This is a prompt that is sent to the mobile phone via SMS to alert the user that downloadable information is available. When the user authorises the download, a GPRS connection is established, which connects to the link provided, and the content is downloaded to the phone.

When using 16ixty, the following process is followed:

• The SMS gateway receives an SMS message from a mobile phone.
• The checkout manager confirms that this SMS is a request for a certain product and that the correct number of incoming messages was received to pay for the product. (The 'cost' of the product is predefined by specifying how many messages must be received before a product is sent.)
• If the checkout manager is satisfied that the product is paid for, a WAP Push Service Indicator is sent with a pseudo link to the product.
• This link connects the phone to the 16ixty content security system whose job it is to:
• Ensure that only paid content can be downloaded.
• Report back to 16ixty when a product is downloaded so that the download can be logged.
• Ensure that content is secured by never providing a direct link to a file but rather utilising the pseudo link used in the WAP Push Service Indicator to stream content via the pseudo link to the phone.
• Expire content after a certain period of time to ensure that it is not downloaded continuously.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) adds images, text, audio clips and ultimately, video clips to SMS (Short Message Service/text messaging). While this looks like a perfect solution for delivering content to a phone, it is actually less reliable and more complex than WAP delivery while not providing any advantages.

MMS messages are sent using a combination of SMS and WAP technologies. When an MMS message is sent, a mobile device receives an MMS notification message via SMS. When this MMS notification message is received by the mobile device, the mobile device automatically initiates a WAP gateway connection to download the content of the MMS message.

An MMS therefore needs the same technology as a WAP Push Service Indicator (GPRS-enabled phone) while adding extra steps to the delivery process. This is the reason most industrial-grade content delivery gateways like 16ixty prefer to use WAP Push Service Indicators to deliver content.