Multimedia Messaging Service
MMS is still widely used for group messaging (iMessage fallback on non-Apple devices), marketing images, and vCards. Understanding MM7 (application-to-MMSC API) is needed when integrating with carrier MMS gateways.
What It Defines
MMS extends SMS to support multimedia content: images, audio, video, and formatted text. The OMA MMS spec defines the MM1 interface (UE to MMSC), MM4/MM7 inter-carrier and application interfaces, MIME-encapsulated message format, and WAP push delivery. Still used for group messaging fallback and marketing media.
Canonical (Normative)
Industry body that produces interoperable mobile service specifications. Published MMS, OMA DM (device management), LwM2M (Lightweight M2M), and push notification standards. OMA SpecWorks is the current name for the technical work.
Related Specs
SMS is how billions of people receive OTP codes, alerts, and notifications. Understanding PDU format, encoding (GSM-7 vs UCS-2), and concatenation is essential for any platform sending SMS at scale via Twilio, AWS SNS, or direct SMPP.
RCS is replacing SMS for brand messaging, OTP, and consumer engagement. Every major US/EU carrier now supports RCS Universal Profile. If you build SMS communications today, you need to understand RCS UP for 2025+ deployments.