What is the difference between GSM-7 and Unicode SMS?
GSM-7 is the basic SMS alphabet: English letters, digits and common punctuation. A character outside it, such as Devanagari, an emoji or some symbols, switches the whole message to Unicode. A GSM-7 segment carries 160 characters and a Unicode segment carries 70. One Unicode character anywhere in the text is enough to change the encoding.
How many characters fit in a Nepali SMS?
Nepali written in Devanagari is sent as Unicode, so one segment holds 70 characters. A message of 71 to 134 characters uses two segments, and 135 to 201 characters uses three. Vowel signs and the half letters in conjuncts count as characters too, so a Nepali sentence can be longer than it looks.
तपाईंको अर्डर तयार छ। आज बेलुका ६ बजेसम्म लैजानुहोला।
Why do long messages use 153 or 67 characters per segment?
When a message runs past one segment, each part carries a small header so the phone can join the parts back in order. That header takes space, so long GSM-7 messages carry 153 characters per segment and long Unicode messages carry 67. The phone shows one message, but every part is billed as one credit.
How do I work out the credits a message will use?
Count the characters, find the number of segments, then multiply by recipients. A 150-character English message is one segment, so 1,000 recipients use 1,000 credits. A 200-character English message is two segments, so 2,000 credits. A 100-character Nepali message is two Unicode segments, so 1,000 recipients also use 2,000 credits.
At the NPR 0.90 rate, 2,000 credits cost NPR 1,800 before VAT, or NPR 2,034 with 13% VAT.
- Up to 160 GSM-7 characters: 1 segment
- 161 to 306 GSM-7 characters: 2 segments
- 307 to 459 GSM-7 characters: 3 segments
- Up to 70 Unicode characters: 1 segment
- 71 to 134 Unicode characters: 2 segments
- 135 to 201 Unicode characters: 3 segments
How can I keep an SMS to one segment?
Write English messages in plain GSM-7 text and drop emoji and curly quotes, which can switch a message to Unicode. Keep Nepali messages to 70 characters. Cut greetings and repeated words, use short links, and check the character count before sending to a large list, because one extra character can double the credits used.
Questions people also ask
What is the longest message I can send?
One send can carry up to 2,000 characters. It is split into segments, and each segment is billed as one credit per recipient.
Does mixing English and Nepali change the count?
Yes. One Devanagari character makes the whole message Unicode, so the English words in it are also counted at 70 characters per segment, or 67 once the message is split.
Is romanized Nepali counted as GSM-7?
Yes, as long as it uses only standard Latin letters, digits and common punctuation. 'Tapai ko order tayar chha' fits up to 160 characters per segment.