What’s Unicode?
The Unicode system is defined as non-standard letters and symbols that are not contained within the standard GSM alphabet. The GSM alphabet includes all Latin characters, digits and a few special symbols.
Unicode characters are made up of more than 1 normal character, therefore they have a higher character value. If you copy and paste Unicode into the body of your message, you will notice the character count of your message jump dramatically.
Australian carrier, Telstra, defines Unicode standards for SMS delivery as:
“Any SMS that contains a Non-Standard Character is a unicode message (“Unicode Message”) and not a Standard SMS. The maximum number of Standard Characters in a Unicode Message is 70. A message containing Non-Standard Characters will be sent in two or more parts if the number of characters in that message exceeds 70 (“Long Unicode Message”). The maximum number of characters in each part of a Long Unicode Message is 67.”
You’ll be prompted if there are any Unicode characters in your message, giving you an opportunity to remove them before sending if you wish.
All emojis, some symbols and international alphabet caracters are considered Unicode characters.
Click here to view a complete list of Unicode characters.