Methods and systems are disclosed for transferring service application data from a server to a subscriber device via the PSTN without establishing a call between the server and subscriber device and without the PSTN switching components having inherent knowledge as to the data content. The server defines a generic request message, which contains the service application data and data delivery instructions. This generic request message is delivered to the subscriber's terminating switch, which subsequently delivers the service application data to the subscriber based on the data delivery instructions. The terminating switch then defines a generic response message and delivers it to the server, informing the server as to status of the data delivery. Similarly, methods and systems are also taught for broadcasting data from a server to a plurality of devices via the PSTN.