SMPP is designed for fast, real-time delivery of SMS messages between entities like SMSCs and external systems. This is particularly useful in scenarios such as transactional SMS or alerts.

SMPP allows large messages (larger than the SMS message limit, usually 160 characters) to be split into multiple parts, each sent as a separate message. These parts are reassembled by the receiving system.

While SMPP itself doesn’t offer built-in encryption, security is usually managed at the transport layer (using protocols like SSL/TLS). This ensures that the message data remains confidential and secure.

SMPP allows for setting priorities on messages, allowing more important messages to be delivered before others.

SMPP supports the use of alphanumeric sender IDs, allowing businesses or services to customize the sender's name (up to 6 characters), making messages appear as coming from a brand or service rather than a generic number.

SMPP supports queuing of messages, allowing messages to be temporarily stored if they can't be delivered immediately due to network congestion or other issues.

SMPP has gone through various versions, with version 3.3, 3.4, and 5.0 being the most commonly used. Version 3.4 is the most widely adopted in industry, while version 5.0 introduces enhancements for improved functionality.

Bind operations are used to authenticate and establish a session between the client and the SMSC