AT&T and T-Mobile already announced that they will start to phase out support for shared short codes, such as 27126. We continue to work closely with carriers to plan for these changes so that your service is uninterrupted.
Since each carrier has its own rules for what it will and won’t accept on its networks, businesses will discover that shared short code delivery rates will begin to fall gradually as each wireless carrier begins to block shared short code traffic on their networks over the coming few months.
Business-friendly alternatives are available!
So what’s the best option for your business? Here are a few that you may consider:
- Dedicated short codes
You can lease your own dedicated 5-6 digit short code for high volume messaging and have greater control over your business messaging destiny with an easy-to-remember short code that allows you to build brand awareness.
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- Approved for A2P Messaging
- Avg Monthly Number Hosting Fee: $1000-$1500 per month
- Voice-enabled: No
- Approval time: 6-8 weeks
- Are delivery receipts available? Yes
- Able to send MMS? Yes
- Toll-Free Messaging or Text enable your existing landline
Did you know you can SMS-enable your business’ toll-free number? Better yet, high volume application-to-person (A2P) messaging is possible on toll-free numbers, with approvals. Use the same number you’re already relying on for your customer contact center or sales line.
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- Approved for A2P Messaging
- Avg Monthly Number Hosting Fee: $1-$5 per month
- Voice-enabled: Yes
- Approval time: Immediately; option to register an approved campaign which allows high throughput and higher delivery rate. The approved campaign takes 3-5 business days.
- Are delivery receipts available? Yes
- Able to send MMS? Yes
- Ten Digit Long Code (10DLC) Messaging
This new type of A2P messaging allows businesses to use local numbers to send high volumes of text messages over approved local numbers, giving your business that local touch.
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- Approved for A2P Messaging
- Avg Monthly Number Hosting Fee: $1-$5 per month
- Voice-enabled: Yes
- Approval time: Immediately, option to register an approved campaign which allows high throughput and higher delivery rate. The approved campaign takes 3-5 business days.
- Are delivery receipts available? Yes
- Able to send MMS? Yes
Next Steps
Migrate shared short code traffic to either dedicated short code or 10DLC by March 1st. We recommend you postpone promoting your short code in advertising and buy a local or Toll-free number from the dashboard and start migrating SMS traffic to your new 10-digit number. To add a new local, Toll-Free number to your account, go to the Manage Text Number menu option and click on Add Dedicate Number. Carriers are rolling out the process to register 10DLC campaigns, which will be available in next coming weeks.