> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.beem.africa/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Send and receive international SMS messages over HTTP, or connect via SMPP.

The **Multicountry SMS API** lets you send messages to and receive messages from mobile devices across supported countries. Outbound (mobile-terminated) messages are sent from your application to the Beem Messaging Platform (MP) using HTTP. Inbound (mobile-originated) messages and delivery reports are sent from MP to your server using HTTP callbacks.

Each message consists of parameters sent as form fields using HTTP **POST** or **GET**. **POST** is recommended — GET requests can be limited in size and may be truncated by browsers or intermediate proxies. The platform supports HTTP/1.0 and HTTP/1.1 with persistent connections.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="HTTP API">
    Send text and binary SMS, request JSON or XML responses, and receive delivery reports and inbound messages over HTTPS.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SMPP">
    Connect directly to the Messaging Platform using the SMPP protocol for high-throughput message submission.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## How it works

```text theme={null}
Your Application
      │
      │ HTTP POST/GET (outbound SMS)
      ▼
Beem Messaging Platform
      │
      ▼
Mobile Network
      │
      ▼
Recipient Device

Inbound MO / DLR
      │
      ▼
Beem Messaging Platform
      │
      │ HTTP POST to your callback URL
      ▼
Your Application
```

***

## Base URLs

| Purpose       | URL                              |
| ------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Send messages | `https://api.blsmsgw.com:8443`   |
| Check balance | `https://www.blsmsgw.com/portal` |

***

## Billing

Messages are billed from your Multicountry SMS account balance according to destination country and message type. Check balance via the portal balance API documented in your account setup. Contact [support@beem.africa](mailto:support@beem.africa) for tariffs and top-ups.

***

## What's in this section

* [Prerequisites](/guides/multicountry-sms/prerequisites) — account setup and credentials
* [Message encoding](/guides/multicountry-sms/message-encoding) — GSM, UCS2, binary, URL encoding, and addresses
* [Sending messages](/guides/multicountry-sms/sending-messages) — client-to-platform flow and response formats
* [API responses](/guides/multicountry-sms/api-responses) — HTTP and platform status codes
* [Throughput & connections](/guides/multicountry-sms/throughput) — TPS and connection limits
* [Delivery reports](/guides/multicountry-sms/delivery-reports) — DLR callbacks via `DLRADDRESS`
* [Inbound two-way SMS](/guides/multicountry-sms/inbound-two-way) — mobile-originated messages
* [Parameters reference](/guides/multicountry-sms/parameters) — send, DLR, and MO parameter details
* [SMPP integration](/guides/multicountry-sms/smpp) — connection parameters and bind settings
* [SMPP error codes](/guides/multicountry-sms/smpp-error-codes) — common SMPP status codes