The Rundown on 10DLC
There are a lot of big things happening across the telecom industry! The main change is that mobile carriers like AT&T, US Cellular, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, have noticed the increase in businesses using text messaging, and now they’re going to start charging you extra to continue doing it!
But first, what the heck is 10DLC??? And, why am I going to be charged for it?! 10DLC stands for 10-digit long code (which is a standard phone number, like 858-555-0111, that you’ve already been using). Businesses like yours use it to regularly send consumers texts for everything from alerts, to appointment reminders, to notifications and marketing promotions.
Mobile carriers claim they want to take extra steps to keep channels free of spam and maintain quality as more and more businesses start texting customers for these things, but of course, it comes with a hefty price tag!
As a result, these carriers are creating a new set of standards and registration processes for 10DLC numbers. Keep reading to learn more about why these changes are happening, when they’re happening, and how Review Wave is responding!
What are the new standards and registration processes?
Carriers like AT&T, US Cellular, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile are going to start requiring SMS providers, including Review Wave, to register clients’ businesses and use cases as individual campaigns with the carriers.
A “campaign” is a specific goal or purpose a business or organization is using business text messaging for, including:
- Transactional (sales, collections, etc.)
- Promotional (marketing, patient engagement, etc.)
Carriers are also going to need some business information for registration like business name, business website, Tax ID number, etc.
We’re going to gather all the info from you within the coming weeks, and then register it automatically for you. So, stay on the lookout for more details from us!
Once the carriers have this information, your business will be vetted against a “trust score” that will determine your daily message throughput (or the measure of data transfer between the connections measured by message per second).
Essentially the carriers are checking your message volume to make sure you’re not spamming your customers.
Will message pricing change?
The campaign registry will have a one-time setup fee and ongoing recurring monthly fees for every campaign registered per carrier, plus the individual carriers may have their own individual message unit fees! The registration fees and monthly fees are rumored to be around $50+ but they will vary depending on the carrier.
Instead of charging multiple fees, we are covering these costs for our Review Wave clients! We understand the need for texting patients, two-way communication, and we’ve got your back! We want you to have all the tools you need to provide the best patient experience possible!
Many other text messaging services have already announced that they will not be covering these costs for you and will be adding onto your bill to push these fees through to the carrier. If you’re unsure, you should definitely find out sooner rather than later!
What are the benefits?
While the registration process and fees are a hassle, registering these use cases should help carriers give A2P (application-to-person) texts faster message speeds, higher throughput, and deliverability. Your messages will send faster, and in turn, feel just as human as regular person-to-person messaging!
That’s going to make both you and your patients happier in the long run!
When is this all happening?
Each carrier has a different timeline, but don’t panic that you aren’t already registered! Carriers most likely won’t start blocking non-registered use cases and messaging traffic until June or July 2021. We will keep you posted every step of the way!
How is Review Wave responding?
As mentioned earlier, we’re going to gather all the required registration info from our clients within the coming weeks.
We’ll then register that info with the carrier automatically for you, and cover all the fees associated with this change for our Review Wave clients!
Registration is expected to be an instant process, and you should experience no downtime!
What steps do you need to take?
Just sit back, keep an eye out for us requesting your registration information, and we’ll continue to keep you in the loop as we learn more!
As always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions!
If you’re interested in learning more about how Review Wave can help you with your business texting needs, book a demo!
