Major US carriers have announced their requirements for SMS A2P (application to person) messaging using 10 digit geographic numbers, also known as 10 DLC. This new standard provides many benefits to our customers including supporting higher messaging speeds and better deliverability.
Customers using the Vonage SMS API to send traffic from a +1 Country Code 10-Digit Long Code into US networks will need to register a brand and campaign in order to get approval for sending 10 DLC messages.
- The guide below outlines what you need to know about campaign registration for 10DLC messages. For help on registering your brand(s), you can view this brand registration guide.
- Customers can only send messages with the same use case that have been registered with their campaign
- Resellers of Vonage SMS services will, in most cases, need to register their customers' brands and campaigns for them.
- US numbers can no longer be shared across brands which includes both geographic numbers and US Shared Short Codes
10DLC Campaign Registration Guide
Campaigns are a container for the details of the messages sent and will contain information such as use case, subscriber opt-in/out, and associated numbers with the campaign. It is important to understand which use case and numbers are required for a campaign before they are registered for 10DLC messaging.
Campaign Types
- Standard Campaigns: Basic use cases that usually do not require additional review.
- Special Campaigns: Use cases that will require additional Brand vetting. These are more complex or unusual use cases and requirements such as political, emergency traffic and trials accounts. Don’t worry, our Vonage 10DLC specialists will help guide you through.
|
Name |
Category |
Description |
|
2FA |
Standard |
Any authentication, verification or one-time passcode (OTP) |
|
Account Notification |
Standard |
Standard notification for account holders, relating to and being about an account |
|
Customer Care |
Standard |
All customer interaction, including account management and customer support |
|
Delivery Notifications |
Standard |
Information about the status of the delivery of a product or service |
|
Fraud Alert Messaging |
Standard |
Messaging regarding potential fraudulent activity on an account |
|
Higher Education |
Standard |
Campaigns created on behalf of Colleges or Universities. It also includes School Districts and education institutions that fall outside of any "free to the consumer" messaging model |
|
Low Volume Mixed |
Standard |
Small throughput, any combination of use-cases. Examples include: test, demo accounts |
|
Marketing |
Standard |
Any communication with marketing and/or promotional content |
|
Mixed |
Standard |
Any undeclared combination of use-cases |
|
Polling and voting |
Special |
Requests for surveys and voting for non political arenas |
|
Public Service Announcement |
Special |
An informational message that is meant to raise the audience's awareness about an important issue |
|
Security Alert |
Special |
A notification that the security of a system, either software or hardware, has been compromised in some way and there is an action you need to take |
|
Carrier Exemptions |
Special |
Exemption by Carrier, can only be approved through manual review and or vetting process |
|
Charity |
Special |
Communications from a registered charity aimed at providing help and raising money for those in need. Includes: 5013C Charity. Does not include: Religious organisations |
|
Conversational Messaging |
Special |
Peer-to-peer app-based group messaging with proxy/pooled numbers. Supporting personalized services and non-exposure of personal numbers for enterprise or A2P communications |
|
Emergency |
Special |
Notification services designed to support public safety / health during natural disasters, armed conflicts, pandemics and other national or regional emergencies |
|
Sweepstakes |
Special |
All sweepstakes messaging |
|
Political |
Special |
Part of organised effort to influence decision making of specific groups. All campaigns to be verified. Only federal campaigns |
|
Social |
Special |
Communication within or between closed communities. For example: influencers' alerts |
|
Large CSP Trial |
Special |
Large CSP Trial Offers with strict controls and MNO audit rights - MO opt in |
AT&T & T-mobile Campaign Categorization & Throughput
AT&T & T-mobile categorizes campaigns in order to manage throughput and cost per campaign registration.
- TPM - Throughput per minute
- TPS - Throughput per second
- Risk Level - Is defined by the scoring of the Brand during registration
Vetting and Approval Requirements
Subscriber Information & Message Content
Each campaign registered for 10DLC requires a full brand and campaign use case analysis in order to determine registration approval.. There may be additional data and messages content types that will require additional approvals, like embedded links within the message content. Subscriber management is also another key area which we will see more requirements from carriers. Our Vonage 10DLC specialists will guide you through this approval process and have included some additional considerations below.
|
Name |
Description |
Notes |
|
Subscriber Opt-in |
Record that the subscriber has opted into the receiving the messages. |
|
|
Subscriber Opt-out |
Does the subscriber have the ability to opt-out of receiving messages through keywords e.g. “STOP“, “QUIT“, etc. |
|
|
Subscriber Help |
Is there a 'help' mechanism through MO help key words such as 'HELP', 'INFO'. |
|
|
Age Gated |
Is message content age gated |
|
|
Direct Lending |
Do the messages contain any direct lending or loan arrangement content? |
|
|
Affiliate Marketing |
Are the messages controlled by an affiliate other than the brand? |
|
|
Embedded Link |
Is there a call-to-action link/URL to be embedded in all messages sent. |
|
|
Embedded Phone |
Is there a call-to-action phone number to be embedded in all messages. |
|
|
Number Pool |
If a campaign is using over 50 numbers it needs to be specified as using a Pool as this can be seen as trying to snowshoe. |
|
|
Minimum Number of Use Cases |
Minimum number of message examples for approval |
|
|
Maximum Number of Use Cases |
Maximum number of message examples for approval |
|
Registering a Campaign
Selecting a Use Case
There are 2 main categories:
- Standard - covers most use cases and content types
- Special - more complex or unusual use cases and requirements such as political, emergency traffic and trials accounts
The definitions are clear, however there are some that most likely need a little more explanation:
- Standard:Mixed - It would be easier to create only “Mixed” campaigns. This may be seen as avoidance of following guidelines of specifying traffic so this use case should be used with caution
- Standard:Low Volume Mixed - This would be assigned to a brand with a higher risk rating, most likely we would not want to register a campaign against this type of use case
- Special:Large CSP Trial - Only relates to a Service Provider such as Vonage. If there is a valid case for one of our customers such as if they are a trading customer this could be selected
- Special:Conversational Messaging - It’s important to note with 10DLC carriers are seeing any communications from a business to a subscriber to is not traditional P2P and must be registered for 10DLC
- Special:Charity - Note that this may only be available to a “not for profit“ brand entity type
Providing subscriber and message information
One of the components of 10DLC is having clearer management of subscriber information and participation. Mobile Network Operators (MNO) may need to review values submitted and The Campaign Registry API may return responses defining what is required and what must not be used based on brand and campaign.
Subscriber Approval & Help
The following items may be required for approval.
- Subscriber Opt-in - Record that the subscriber has opted into the receiving the messages.
- Subscriber Opt-out - Does the subscriber have the ability to opt-out of receiving messages through keywords e.g. “STOP“, “QUIT“, etc.
- Subscriber Help - Is there a 'help' mechanism through MO help key words such as 'HELP', 'INFO'.
Message Content
The following content could determine if a campaign is approved.
- Age Gated - Is message content age gated
- Direct Lending - Do the messages contain any direct lending or loan arrangement content?
- Affiliate Marketing - Are the messages controlled by an affiliate other than the brand?
- Embedded Link - Is there a call-to-action link/URL to be embedded in all messages sent.
- Embedded Phone - Is there a call-to-action phone number to be embedded in all messages.
Number Management
Required to determined if a campaign can be misused.
- Number Pool - If a campaign is using over 50 numbers it needs to be specified as using a Pool as this can be seen as trying to snowshoe.
Message Samples
Approval and delivery through the MNO can be dependent on whether the submitted content during campaign registration matches the content that is actually sent which why messages samples are required.
- Minimum Number of Use Cases - Minimum number of message examples for approval
Maximum Number of Use Cases - Maximum number of message examples for approval
