What is MM7?

MM7 protocol is specified by 3GPP. As distinct from the earlier interfaces between VASP applications and MMS Relay/Server, MM7 is a common vendor-independent protocol. Thus, by using the MM7 interface, the content provider will save both time and effort, leading to a shorter time-to-market with new services, especially in multiple operator environments, provided that their MMSCs offer MM7 interface as well.

MM7 protocol is based on the concept of Web Services and uses SOAP and HTTP for communication. The multimedia messages are sent to the MMS Relay/Server with HTTP POST method. The body of the post contains XML data about the delivery and the multimedia message as a MIME-multipart attachment.

The MM7 protocol consists of abstract request and response messages. For example when VASP wants to send an MMS message, it sends an MM7_submit.REQ-message to the MMS Relay/Server that responds with an MM7_submit.RES-message. Each message has the mandatory fields to link the request with the response and indicating the MM7 specification.