Apparatus and method for improving short message service dependability

A method for improving the reliability of the short message service, SMS, in a mobile telephone network having a central short message service, SMSC, that can perform a persistent storage and forwarding of short messages, SM, to respective addressees and a router that first receives the SM and reduces the number of SM forwarded to the SMSC attempting to deliver a portion of the SM received, the method comprising the steps of: receiving (301) an SM from a sender; creating (304) a first log entry, including a copy of the SM, in a log memory (260); confirm (305) receipt of the SM to the sender; try (306) one of a first delivery attempt, FDA, of the SM to an addressee and a forwarding, FWD, of the SM to the SMSC; if successful completion (307) of one of the FDA and between FWD, creating (308) a second log entry, including an indication of the successful completion, in the log memory; in case of recovery after a failure (309), determining if the SM may have been lost searching (310) in the registration memory the second log entry and if there is the second log entry, retrying (311 ) the one of a FDA and FWD using the copy of the SM included in the first log entry; wherein the record memory (260) is a storage medium survivable whose contents can survive a failure of the router and wherein the step of creating a first log entry occurs before the step of confirmation reception.