What is A2P 10DLC?

Notice – Update, August 2, 2021

Let's face it, Robocalls and Texting SPAM are out of control, and the carriers are finally doing something to crack down on the bad actors ringing your phone with scams. Unfortunately, that means you need to know what's happening and how to stay compliant, or, your messaging traffic may be blocked.

For customers sending more than 3,000 messages per day to the US or using more than 5 long code numbers (short codes), registration of your Brand and Campaign(s) should be completed by September 30, 2021. Starting October 1, there is a heightened risk of increased per-message carrier fees, as well as additional filtering for unregistered traffic, which could cause delivery failures.

Customers sending fewer than 3,000 messages per day (peak) to the US and using 5 or fewer long code numbers do not need to take any action. These limits are per Brand, not per phone number or account. So there is no way to get around the limitations buy using additional 10-digit numbers, or creating separate accounts. The carriers assign a “Reputation Score” to each brand.

Customers who qualify for a Special Use Cases, such as 501(c)(3) nonprofits, emergency services, and political organizations, should wait for more guidance from us before proceeding with registration. We will be in touch.

If neither of these special circumstances apply to you, your Brand will need to be registered now to benefit from improved deliverability and increased throughput in the new verified A2P 10DLC ecosystem.

What is A2P?

A2P 10DLC refers to a system in the United States that allows businesses to send Application-to-Person (A2P) type messaging via standard 10-digit long code (10DLC) phone numbers. Carriers in the US consider all traffic to be A2P. Carriers’ A2P 10DLC offerings provide better delivery quality and lower filtering risk than long code SMS of the past, using the same phone numbers.

A2P 10DLC comes with new registration requirements for businesses who intend to send long code messages to AT&T in the US.

Starting May 1, 2021, AT&T carrier fees went into effect on all  messages to AT&T subscribers. T-Mobile’s carrier fees for both registered and unregistered traffic began June 1, 2021. Verizon is rolling this out as well.

What do you need to do?

If you send more than 3,000 messages per day, AND, you're one of our direct clients, we handle this registration process for you. It's a lot of detailed work, but that's what you hired us for right?

If you do not send any messages to users in the United States using long code numbers, you do not need to do anything.

If you send messages to the US, but you always send fewer than 3,000 messages per day to the US using 5 or fewer long code phone numbers, you do not need to do anything at this time. We are working on a streamlined registration for hobbyists, independent developers and small businesses whose messaging volume never exceeds this threshold.

If you are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, a political organization, emergency services, or another entity type that would qualify for a Special Use Case, please wait for further guidance from us before taking any action. We will communicate to you via email.

What happens if I don't register?

If your message volume requires you to register (see the thresholds described above) and you have not completed registration by October 1, 2021, your message traffic may be subject to heavier carrier filtering. Increased per-message carrier fees may apply to unregistered traffic after this date.

How does US A2P Brand registration work?

When we complete your US A2P Brand registration, your Brand will receive a Trust Score from 0 to 100. This rating influences the maximum message throughput that will be allocated to each of your Campaign use cases (see below).

What is a Trust Score, and how does it affect me?

When we complete the registration of your Brand and Campaign(s) for A2P Messaging that information is sent to The Campaign Registry (TCR), a 3rd party at the center of this new registration system. As of July 22, we also automatically submit your Brand for secondary vetting, which uses a reputation algorithm to review specific criteria relating to your company, and assign a Trust Score that will determine your messaging throughput and T-Mobile daily message limits.

How do Trust Scores influence message throughput?

Trust Scores are grouped into three levels, from lowest to highest. Your Trust Score level, combined with your Campaign Type, will determine the message throughput that is allocated to your campaign use case.

What’s a campaign use case?

This represents a messaging use case, for example sending account notifications or conducting marketing. In carrier terminology, these are called “Campaigns.” For more specificity, we are calling them campaign use cases.

Some companies may only need to register one campaign use case, in other scenarios you may have multiple. For example, if you are a company that sends authentication codes to validate new users, but you also send marketing messages, you should register two campaign use cases.

What information is required for registration?

In order to register businesses, brands and use cases, you will need information about each business and brand. The required info includes the business name, physical address, business type (LLC, partnership, etc.).

For customers sending fewer than 3,000 SMS message segments and MMS a day to the United States, we are working on a registration solution with lighter customer info requirements.

Once I have completed registration, how do I make sure my phone numbers use 10DLC?

Once your Brand(s) and Campaign(s) are approved, you will need to link each of your A2P Campaign Use Cases to a Messaging Service, and add phone numbers to that Messaging Service. Any numbers that you add to that Messaging Service will be automatically associated with the Campaign that you linked to that Messaging Service.

Again, if you are one of our clients we handle this for you! So don't worry about your current phone numbers.

Shared short codes will be banned, date TBD

Dedicated short codes are still a great way to send high-volume A2P messaging in the United States. However, the use of shared short code numbers will be banned with the transition to A2P 10DLC. The only exception to this policy is shared short codes used to send 2-factor auth (2FA) or OTP codes only.

“Shared short codes” refers to short code numbers that are shared among multiple brands, for example Shoe Company A and Beverage Company B sending messages via the same short code number. If you have purchased a short code number from us and are using it for your own business and brand only, you are not affected by this change.

Under the new policy, a short code may be shared across multiple companies only for the purposes of sending authentication code messages, for example “Your login code is 12345.” Any other category of messaging is not allowed on a shared short code.

Customers who are sharing a short code among multiple clients or brands for any purpose other than sending 2-factor codes (also known as OTPs) should completely migrate away from shared short codes.

Previously, the end date for shared short codes was identified as June 1. As of July 1, the end date for shared short codes is on hold until the successful implementation of A2P 10DLC. A specific date will be shared here when we have information to share.

We will keep you informed of any changes in the 10LDC ecosystem via email. If you have further questions about 10DLC you can open a ticket and our support team will respond as soon as possible.