Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol

By far the most common way to send full-text messages to SMS devices, cellular phones, and pagers is through the Telocator Alphanumeric input Protocol (TAP). TAP (also known as IXO or PET) is the industry's standard method of sending automated messages from a computer system or other embedded device. TAP Gateway implements TAP Version 1.7.

TAP has also become the network management industry's standard protocol for sending alerts and notifications from automated equipment, computers and other data-entry devices to SMS devices and cellular phones. The TAP protocol primarily is used to forward one or more alphanumeric pages over a single telephone connection. TAP is a digital communications protocol, which operates through dial up modems or dedicated RS-232 serial I/O connections.

TAP is the recommended method for sending urgent text messages. Because TAP uses a standard phone line and dialup modem, the sending of messages is not dependent on your network or internet connection. This makes TAP ideal for sending outage notifications from network managment and monitoring systems. Even if your entire network has fallen apart, you will be able to send messages to your on-call network management team.

The Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol Version 1.8 specification is avilable for download.