The GSM 03.38 Default Character Set is the standard character encoding used for SMS (Short Message Service) messages on GSM mobile networks. It's often referred to as the "GSM 7-bit default alphabet" because most characters within it are encoded using 7 bits. This allows for efficient transmission of text messages.
Additional characters can be sent as well, by using the < ESC > code in the above table. Refer to the table below on how to send additional characters.
| Dec | 0 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 80 | 96 | 112 | |
| Hex | 0 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | |
| 0 | 0 | @ | Δ | SP | 0 | ¡ | P | p | |
| 1 | 1 | £ | _ | ! | 1 | A | Q | a | q |
| 2 | 2 | $ | Φ | " | 2 | B | R | b | r |
| 3 | 3 | ¥ | Γ | # | 3 | C | S | c | s |
| 4 | 4 | è | Λ | ¤ | 4 | D | T | d | t |
| 5 | 5 | é | Ω | % | 5 | E | U | e | u |
| 6 | 6 | ù | Π | & | 6 | F | V | f | v |
| 7 | 7 | ì | Ψ | ' | 7 | G | W | g | w |
| 8 | 8 | ò | Σ | ( | 8 | H | X | h | x |
| 9 | 9 | Ç | Θ | ) | 9 | I | Y | i | y |
| 10 | A | LF | Ξ | * | : | J | Z | j | z |
| 11 | B | Ø | < ESC > | + | ; | K | Ä | k | ä |
| 12 | C | ø | Æ | , | < | L | Ö | l | ö |
| 13 | D | CR | æ | - | = | M | Ñ | m | ñ |
| 14 | E | Å | . | > | N | Ü | n | ü | |
| 15 | F | å | É | / | ? | O | § | o | à |
| Character | Decimal | Hex |
| € | ||
| < FF > | 10 | 0C |
| [ | 91 | 5B |
| \ | 92 | 5C |
| ] | 93 | 5D |
| ^ | 94 | 5E |
| { | 123 | 7B |
| | | 124 | 7C |
| } | 125 | 7D |
| ~ | 126 | 7E |
| Character | Decimal | Hex |
| < ESC > e | 1B 65 | 27 101 |
| < ESC > < LF > | 1B 0A | 27 10 |
| < ESC > < | 1B 3C | 27 60 |
| < ESC > / | 1B 2F | 27 47 |
| < ESC > > | 1B 3E | 27 62 |
| < ESC > ^ | 1B 14 | 27 20 |
| < ESC > ( | 1B 28 | 27 40 |
| < ESC > @ | 1B 40 | 27 64 |
| < ESC > ) | 1B 29 | 27 41 |
| < ESC > = | 1B 3D | 27 61 |