A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls. On a conceptual level, value-added services add value to the standard service offering, spurring the subscriber to use their phone more and allowing the operator to drive up their ARPU. For mobile phones, while technologies like SMS, MMS and GPRS are usually considered value-added services, a distinction may also be made between standard (peer-to-peer) content and premium-charged content. Value-added services are supplied either in-house by the mobile network operator themselves or by a third-party value-added service provider (VASP). VASPs typically connect to the operator using protocols like Short message peer-to-peer protocol (SMPP), connecting either directly to the short message service centre (SMSC) or, increasingly, to a messaging gateway that allows the operator to control and charge the content better.  Anne Barot