Lots of changes are happening across the telecommunications industry, the main one being that major mobile carriers Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, US Cellular are changing the registration process for 10DLC numbers, and how they handle business text messaging to remove spam and increase message delivery rates.
- 10DLC stands for ‘10-digit long code’, or standard phone numbers like 123-456-7890.
- Businesses will be required to register their 10LDC numbers for texting, otherwise messages may not be delivered.
- A new organization called The Campaign Registry now exists to help register numbers
- CloudCall will collect business information from customers to automatically register your number with TCR and carriers.
This is positive step for the industry
- Spam and unwanted messages will get filtered out. Major mobile carriers are committed to keeping scammers separate from your brand.
- Delivery rates for legitimate messages will be higher.
- Most businesses will see higher throughput – which means faster sending.
- Better connections with your customers while saving time.
- Improved deliverability due to a separate dedicated channel.
- Greater credibility of messages, which means you are more likely to get a response.
- Less expensive and easier to set up than short codes.
- Exclusivity. No sharing of your numbers with other brands.
- Voice-enabled numbers means recipients can call you back if they choose.
What you need to know
The messaging industry has gone through major changes within the past few years. Businesses now regularly send consumers texts for everything from alerts to appointment reminders, to notifications and marketing promotions.
Mobile carriers like AT&T, US Cellular, and T-Mobile recognize this, and they want to take steps to keep channels free of spam and maintain quality as more businesses start texting consumers.
As a result, these carriers are creating a new set of standards and registration processes for 10DLC numbers, so they can better understand who is using them for A2P communication.
What is A2P?
A2P stands for application-to-person texting. It means you’re using an application, like CloudCall to send and receive messages.
A2P previously only applied to automated messaging, but now it’s closer to person-to-person conversations as customers respond to business text messages with questions or comments.
What is 10DLC?
10DLC stands for a 10-digit long code, which is a standard phone number. 10DLC are traditional landline and VOIP numbers used for voice communications. More and more businesses are using these numbers for texting instead of just calling, and carriers want to make sure the messages you’re sending are of high quality and not spam.
How will the registration process affect your business?
The main mobile carriers AT&T, US Cellular, T-Mobile, and Verizon have already started requiring businesses to register their 10DLC phone numbers before they can text with their intended audiences.
CloudCall has decided that we will register our customers’ numbers on your behalf, to make the process straight forward. Carriers are also going to start requiring all messaging software providers, like CloudCall, to register customers’ businesses brands and use cases as individual campaigns. Each registration will be known as a campaign.
What’s a campaign?
A campaign is a specific goal or purpose a business is using business text messaging for, including:
- Transactional (sales, collections, etc.)
- Promotional (marketing, customer engagement, etc.)
- Mixed (a combination of reasons)
You can include as many phone numbers as you like within a single campaign.
Once the carriers have this information, your business will receive a Brand Identity Status – A “Verified” status is acquired by a brand whose EIN/Tax-id matches their Legal Company Name. This status will determine your daily message throughput by each carrier.
Essentially, carriers are checking your message volume to make sure you’re not spamming your customers.
What are the benefits?
Registering your use cases will help carriers give A2P texts faster message speeds, higher throughput, and deliverability. Your messages will send faster and feel just as regular as person-to-person messaging.
When is this happening?
Carriers have been working on the registration process for 10DLC numbers for some time, and have been collecting 10DLC registrations for the last few months. However, from the 1st October they become a requirement. From the 1st October carriers will have the ability to start blocking or filtering any unregistered traffic.
What do I need to do?
In order to get you registered we need your US Tax ID which is something CloudCall doesn’t currently track. As a priority, if we have identified you as a high volume customer, your Account Manager will be in touch this week to collect this information from you. If you are identified as a low volume customer, your Account Manager will still be in touch soon after.
If you have any further questions or concerns prior to us reaching out this week, please feel free to contact your Account Manager.
