Patent ID: 8359018

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving at least one handshaking message, indicating a status of at least one corresponding message transaction, at one of a plurality of messaging service systems available in an operator network, wherein the at least one handshaking message is not addressed to a particular messaging service system of the plurality of messaging service systems; determining whether the at least one handshaking message was directed to the receiving one of the messaging service systems; and routing the at least one handshaking message to one or more other ones of the plurality of messaging service systems if the at least one handshaking message was not directed to the receiving one of the message service systems, comprising transferring the at least one handshaking message from the receiving one of the plurality of messaging service systems to a second one of the plurality of messaging service systems so that, if the at least one handshaking message was not intended for the second messaging service system, the at least one handshaking message is repeatedly transferred from messaging service system to messaging service system until the messaging service system to which the at least one handshaking message was directed is reached.