What is 10DLC?
10 Digit Long Code (10DLC) is the sanctioned standard for A2P text messaging utilizing a traditional 10-digit phone number. This program was created using the following guidelines found in [EXTERNAL] Messaging Principles and Best Practices provided by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), with the intention to stop unwanted messages from reaching consumer devices.
Who is TCR?
The Campaign Registry (TCR) is the information hub that allows to register 10DLC messaging campaigns. The MNOs have appointed TCR to oversee the 10DLC registration initiative.
What is a DCA?
Direct Connect Aggregators (DCAs) are companies that provide direct connectivity to mobile carrier gateways for the purpose of delivering SMS messages.
What are MNOs?
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are the companies that provide connectivity to end users.
What is a Brand?
The company or entity the end customer believes to be sending the message. Your company or organization's legal name, TAX ID/EIN, type (public, private, or charity), website, address, and contact information must be provided for verification. You are unable to submit any campaigns if your brand has not been verified.
What is a Campaign?
A campaign describes the intended goal or use case of the messages (e.g.: account notification, customer care, or 2FA) and how businesses and organizations communicate with their audience through text messaging in a controlled and regulated manner.
Does 10DLC apply to all phone numbers?
Yes, it applies to all DIDs intending to send outbound SMS/MMS to off-net numbers.
Can I register one Brand and one Campaign for all my customers?
10DLC registration requires specifying the TAX ID/EIN number for each Brand and it is not possible to register all DIDs from various customers/company on a single campaign. Each customer or company should have their own brand and campaign. Registering one brand and one campaign across several customers/company will put the Brand at risk. The downside risk of using one Brand and one Campaign across multiple customer/company is that one bad actor can cause a whole campaign to be blocked, thereby causing a service interruption across all users.
SIP.US does not accept new setups of the campaign Use Case "Sole Proprietor." Why is this and what do I tell my partner/customer if they truly have no EIN and are technically considered a “Sole Proprietor”?
- The reason SIP.US doesn't support this use case is that T-Mobile has not yet fully conveyed the requirements for how to get a Sole Proprietors Campaign approved. However, this issue can be circumvented.
- If the customer does not have an EIN they can register for one. This is not tax advice, but this is the only way we can serve your SMS service. Once an EIN is acquired, you can register your brand as “Private“ and use “Low Volume Mixed” use case, which allows more numbers to be registered per campaign and costs less per month than any other use cases.
NOTE: Getting a new EIN implies the business will not be immediately available in the IRS online database, and therefore registration will have to be done manually. This will require a $40 external vetting fee to be paid.
Why does it take so long to get a campaign set up sometimes?
The process of setting up a campaign involves multiple steps such as submitting documentation, going through external vetting and carrier approval. These steps take time to complete and can cause delays in setting up a campaign.
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There are several steps to setting up a 10DLC campaign, and several entities that need to verify it before it can be used. Depending on the entity’s response time, it may take a while to get your campaign vetted. These entities include:
- The Campaign Registry (TCR) for brand and campaign verification
- The Direct Connect Aggregator (DCA) for extra campaign vetting
- Depending on the carrier, they may also do independent vetting
NOTE: Due to the late compliance of other businesses, TCR, carriers, and the DCAs are experiencing an influx of registrations, thereby increasing the time for the approval of campaigns beginning in March 2023. 10DLC brand and campaign registration can take up to 7 business days to complete
What can a customer do to ensure a campaign goes through quickly?
Start by making sure the 10DLC Brand/ Campaign registration request has been completed appropriately. If the request isn’t in order then there’s a high probability that it will be rejected, and that will only increase the time it takes to get set up and piling up of DCA campaign vetting fees. Also, see below for a list of things to double check before submitting your Brand/Campaign request.
What to check before submitting a Brand/Campaign request:
- Legal Company Name
- Must match company name found the IRS letter (please replace with the official name of that document)
- EIN
- Website
- Campaign Description
- Explain the campaign's objectives and intended use. The campaign description must be able to tell the intended purpose of the overall messages.
- Call to Action/Message Flow
- This is an invitation for a consumer to opt in to a messaging campaign. You are required to provide a clear, concise, and conspicuous description of how an end-user subscribes to receive messages. Provide detailed information on how mobile subscribers opt in.
- Sample Messages
- Opt-in, Opt-out and Help Messages
What can be done for a business that legitimately uses more than 49 SMS enabled numbers?
- If the brand has multiple numbers in different locations, they can create separate campaigns per location. Make sure to indicate the address in the campaign description.
- They can create separate campaigns with different/dedicated use cases (e.g., Customer Care, 2FA or Account notification).
- Assess the numbers and SMS usage if they indeed need to have more than 49 numbers.
- Request for Number pooling.
Why is the brand required to have a website?
Mobile carriers expect to easily understand and know who the brand is that's sending content across their networks. In the case a campaign is audited, the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) will review the brand in depth to protect their network from bad actors, along with potential spam and fraud.
Why is a Privacy Policy required on my website?
As it turns out, the Federal Trade Commission (FCC) has required a Privacy Policy for businesses for a long time. [EXTERNAL] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising
Why does that Privacy Policy have to explicitly state I won’t share data?
You can learn more about that from this guide provided by the Federal Trade Commission (FCC): [EXTERNAL] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-910A1.pdf
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Prior Express Written Consent Requirements (47 CFR § 64.1200(f)(9))
In the Second Report and Order, Commission revised the “prior express written consent” definition to make it clear that the consent must be from the called or texted party to each seller/caller, on a one-to-one basis, and that the calls and texts must be logically and topically associated with the website or other interaction when consent was obtained.
Prior express written consent requires:
- A written agreement,
- Signed by the person called or texted, and:
- The agreement clearly and conspicuously authorizes no more than one identified seller to deliver, or cause to be delivered to the person called or texted, advertisements or telemarketing messages using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice.
- The agreement must identify the telephone number to which the signatory authorizes such advertisements or telemarketing messages to be delivered.
- Calls and texts must be logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent.