Everything To Know About New Fees & Processes 10DLC, Commercial Long Codes, And Business Campaign Registration

There is a lot that’s happening in the space of business messaging- for organizations using text messaging to effectively communicate important information and marketing to their audiences. Wireless Carriers have introduced a new, highly complex process in the efforts to restrict non-wireless phone numbers (i.e., landlines, residential, or business lines) from sending messages to mobile numbers. An essential tool being used by businesses across all industries that have turned to text messaging to communicate important information and marketing to their audiences effectively. So what was already a complex process- has gotten that much more complicated.

If you only receive messages, then there is no need to worry.  You can stop reading here.  If you plan to respond to messages (SMS or MMS) then you need to continue.  If you don’t setup a brand and campaign, our platform will block outgoing messages from your numbers to avoid the $10k fines.

General Overview

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) in conjunction with wireless service providers adopted “Messaging Principles and Best Practices” as an industry standard to Protect Consumers from Unwanted Messages, particularly from high-volume messaging traffic.  With this intent in mind, the industry made a distinction in the handling of “consumer” Person to Person (P2P) and “Non-Consumer” Application to Person (A2P) messages via 10 Digit Long Code (10DLC).

A business line with a local area code (10 Digit Long Code) can now be considered a carrier-sanctioned messaging channel to communicate with consumers, thereby classifying business lines as A2P.  P2P consumer message traffic is of an individual person who subscribes to specific wireless messaging services or messaging applications. Therefore, all messaging traffic on our platform is considered A2P.

If you only receive messages then there is no need to worry.  You can stop here.  If you plan to respond to messages (SMS or MMS) then you must continue.

Service Requirements

All messaging traffic originating on our platform to our upstream providers is considered A2P and must comply with A2P/10DLC carrier policies. This includes all messaging applications; ReachUC, vBroadcast, SMS Bot Responder and any future SMS delivery platform made available will need to be compliant.

For Verizon, they have distinct routing in place between P2P and A2P traffic.  This allows Verizon to monitor and filter bad actors on their A2P routes. This has been in effect since Q1 of 2020, including Verizon A2P traffic surcharges.

For ATT & T-Mobile, including any of their subsidiaries (e.g Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, etc.), A2P/10DLC compliance means registering the message sender's Brand (logo) and Campaign (use case) with the “The Campaign Registry” (TCR).

TCR is the organization that will assess the trust score assigned to each brand and pass that information along to the carriers.

Within TCR, you are either a Brand or a Reseller (also called a Campaign Service Provider or CSP). We are here to assist in the process of registering your Brands and Campaigns.

Once a business is registered, messaging throughput is not fixed for every campaign. Carriers determine throughput for a campaign by doing a thorough assessment of your business and use case collected by TCR.

Key assessment areas include:

Brand Identity Verification: TCR validates the EIN, Legal Company Name, and Legal Company Address with third-party independent sources and confirms the existence of the Brand with a verification “Status” (Verified/Unverified). Being a “Verified” Brand is a requirement to message on 10DLC, and Identity Verification is a crucial step for each registered Brand. We suggest paying close attention in entering correct and up-to-date information to allow the Brand to be swiftly verified.

Class/Tier Assignment: Upon Brand verification, TCR will assign available Classes (AT&T) or Tiers (T-Mobile) according to whether or not a verified Brand is part of the Russell 3000 list. Verified Brands who are not part of the Russell 3000 list can improve their Class/Tier assignment through vetting.

TCR provides the ability for “Vetting” of Brands to gain access to special use cases or improve quality of service.  The current cost for Vetting a Brand is $40.00.  Brand and campaign approvals can be immediate or take three to four business days depending on the campaign use case. We will notify Resellers via email when a brand has been approved.

Note: You can have multiple Telephone Numbers (TNs) associated with one Campaign, however, you cannot have multiple Campaigns associated with a TN. We will associate each Campaign ID in our messaging gateway with a TN(s) at your direction. Thereafter, the Campaign ID will be included in every message data record sent to the receiving carrier.

Messaging Types Supported

Attributes	10DLC	Toll-Free
Messaging Type	A2P	A2P
Voice-Enabled	Yes (US/Canada)	Yes (US/Canada)
Verification Required	Yes	Yes
Use Case Approval Required	Yes	Strongly Recommended
Use Case Approval Time	1-2 Days	4-5 Days
Throughput	Varies by Carrier	Varies by Carrier
Mobile Phone Receipt Delivery	Best Effort	Yes (US/Canada)
Required Keywords	Opt-In, Opt-Out, and Help	STOP, UNSTOP

Messaging Costs for Incoming/Outgoing Messages

The following is a list to outline the different charges consolidated between all the carriers. Please note: We do not guarantee this pricing moving forward, as carriers can and will change surcharges, and we are at the mercy of each carrier.  We will keep this list updated as changes occur.  Carriers have been changing rates.

• 8XX SMS @ per msg rate: 0.012
• 8XX MMS @ per msg rate: 0.024
• A2P/10DLC SMS @ per msg rate: 0.012
• A2P/10DLC MMS @ per msg rate: 0.020

Non-Recurring Fees

• TCR Brand Activation: A $4 one-time pass-through fee for each brand activated.
• Brand Registration: A $50 one-time fee for registration of each brand.
• Campaign Activation, Migration or Modification: A $50 one-time pass-through fee for each campaign (T-Mobile).
• T-Mobile NNID Registration: A $2,000 one-time fee for customers that choose to utilize a custom NNID. This doesn’t apply to most customers.
• Special Business Review Request: A $5,000 one-time fee for when a customer has an edge use case, such as the use of proxy numbers for business or rideshare, or the brand needs a higher daily throughput than assigned by T-Mobile. Please see the Special Business Review section below for more information.

Recurring Fees

• Brand Fees – No recurring fees as of October 1, 2021.
• Campaign fees vary between $2 and $10 per month based on use case with a 3-month minimum billing charge. See the Campaign Use Cases Table.

Non-compliance fees for violation of practices spelled out in the T-Mobile Code of Conduct: (https://www.t-mobile.com/support/public-files/attachments/T-Mobile%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf )

• Text Enablement: A $10,000 pass-through fee if T-Mobile receives a complaint where you or your message sender text-enables a 10-digit NANP telephone number and sends messages prior to verification of message sender ownership and/or letter of authorization.
• Grey Route: A $10 fee per message if A2P messages are sent over P2P routes. This fee will begin January 1, 2022.
• 10DLC Long Code Messaging Program Evasion: A $1,000 pass-through fee if a program is found to be using techniques such as snowshoeing, dynamic routing, or unauthorized number replacement.
• Content Violation: A $10,000 pass-through fee for each unique instance of the third or any subsequent notification of content violating the T-Mobile Code of Conduct involving the same content provider. This includes SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco) violations, spam, phishing, and messaging that meets the Severity 0 violation threshold per the CTIA Short Code Monitoring Handbook (https://www.wmcglobal.com/hubfs/CTIA%20Short%20Code%20Monitoring%20Handbook%20-%20v1.8.pdf).

Campaign Use Cases Table

Standard Use Cases are immediately available for all ‘Verified’ Brands and do not require Vetting or pre/post-approval by MNOs.

Special Use Cases are sensitive or critical in nature and may require Vetting or pre/post-registration approval by MNOs. Requirements may vary according to each MNO.

The following table gives a definition for each Use-Case and monthly fees:

USE CASE	DESCRIPTION	Monthly Fees (3-Month Minimum)
2FA	Any authentication, verification, or one-time passcode.	$2.00
Account Notifications	Standard notifications for account holders, relating to and being about an account.	$10.00
Customer Care	All customer care interaction, including but not limited to account management and customer support	$10.00
Delivery Notifications	Notification about the status of the delivery of a product or service.	$10.00
Fraud Alert Messaging	Notifications regarding potential fraudulent activity on a user’s account.	$10.00
Higher Education	Messaging created on behalf of Colleges or Universities, including School Districts and education institutions. This use case is NOT for the “free to the consumer” messaging model.	$10.00
Low Volume Mixed	For Brands that have multiple use cases and only need very low messaging throughput. Most companies can be served by ‘Low Volume Mixed’ use case, which includes less than 2,000 messages per day or 75 Texts Per Minute. Examples include demo accounts, small businesses (single Hair Salon, Doctor’s office, single Pizza shop, etc.).	$2.00
Marketing	Any communication that includes marketing and/or promotional content.	$10.00
Mixed	Any messaging campaign containing 2 to 5 standard use cases.	$10.00
Polling and voting	The sending of surveys and polling/voting campaigns for non-political arenas.	$10.00
Public Service Announcement	Informational messaging to raise an audience’s awareness about important issues.	$10.00
Security Alert	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.	$10.00
Carrier Exemptions	Exemption by Carrier Post-registration approval by MNO is required for this Use Case.	$10.00
Charity	Communications from a registered charity aimed at providing help and raising money for those in need. 501c3 Tax-Exempt Organizations only.	$3.00
Conversational Messaging	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. Post-registration approval by MNO is required for this Use Case.	$10.00
Emergency	Notification services designed to support public safety/health during natural disasters, armed conflicts, pandemics, and other national or regional emergencies. Post-registration approval by MNO is required for this Use Case.	$5.00
Sweepstakes	All sweepstakes messaging Post-registration approval by MNO is required for this Use Case.	$10.00
Political (Election Campaigns)	Part of an organized effort to influence the decision-making of a specific group. Available only to registered 501©(4/5/6) and Orgs with a Campaign Verify token. Register at www.campaignverify.org and select ‘Import Vetting’ on the Brand Details page to unlock the Political Use Case.	$10.00
Social	Communication between public figures/influencers and their communities. Examples include: YouTube Influencers’ alerts or Celebrity alerts Only MNO pre-approved CSPs are eligible for this Use Case.	$10.00
Sole Proprietor	Limited to entities without an EIN / Tax ID.	$0.00
Platform Free Trial	Platform Free Trial offers strict controls and MNO audit rights (MO opt-in). Only pre-approved CSPs are eligible for this Use Case.	$0.00
Agents and Franchises	Agents; franchises; local branches Post-registration approval by MNO is required for this Use Case.	$30.00

 

For information about MNO (Mobile Network Operator) Throughput, including AT&T and T-Mobile terms with relative classes and tiers, please view our Use Case MNO Throughput Tables.

Use Case MNO Throughput Tables

THROUGHPUT PER MINUTE (TPM, AT&T ONLY) – The number of messages that can be sent per minute on the carrier’s network.

MESSAGE CLASS (AT&T ONLY) – AT&T’s message classification that correlates to the surcharge and TPM for a Campaign.

BRAND TIER (T-MOBILE ONLY) – T-Mobile’s message classification that correlates to the daily messaging volume for a Brand.

The following tables illustrate AT&T and T-Mobile terms* with relative classes and tiers.

* Terms may be subject to change by MNOs at any time, please refer to official MNO documentation for up-to-date terms.

Special Business Review

Our current understanding is that the requirements for a T-Mobile Special Business Review focus on each brand a customer may have. If you expect your brand to send more messages than your daily throughput allows, please follow the instructions below to be considered for a Special Business Review.  Send an email to support@runcentral.com. With the information below.

Some of the terms you’ll find on the form are defined below. For more 10DLC terminology, check out the 10DLC-A2P Glossary.

• Brand: The company or entity initiating messages to the consumer.
• Campaign ID: An indicator in the NetNumber Override Services Registry (OSR) showing that the 10DLC number is being used for the delivery of Non-Consumer (A2P) messages. If you don’t have one yet, you can just put Pending
• Campaign Overview: A detailed description of the messaging campaign.
• Messaging Example: A user flow or content sample from the messaging campaign.
• Message Service Type: The type of messaging service being used for the messaging campaign (e.g., SMS or MMS)
• Content Category Type: The types of messages being sent over the 10DLC number (e.g., marketing alerts and promotions).
• If you do not set up a brand and campaign, we will have to prevent you from sending messages to any numbers with any carrier in the above table that requires campaign registrations.

Currently, the creation of a brand and campaign is a semi-automated and manual process for Runcentral. However, you can start the process by contacting our support team – support@runcentral.com, and they will assist you in the process.