[VoiceOps] Toll Free Messaging: As Hard or Harder than 10DLC?

[Peter Beckman]

Toll Free SMS used to be not a problem, turn it on and you're done.
Slightly higher per-SMS Rates, no free inbound. Businesses could use them
and have no issues with A2P vs P2P and registering a 10DLC campaign, etc.

Lately random non-direct carriers are turning off SMS without notification,
leading to our customers complaining, and then we're told that they need to
fill out a "Know Your Customer" (KYC) form with company name, contact, use
case, domains, etc.

It's a terrible customer experience for us and our end users.

I have a bunch of small business customers using Toll Free SMS.

     - 25% use automation, sending out in-house notifications and Two-Factor
       Auth to their contractors, 200-500 outgoing messages per month.

     - 50% are sent/received by a human, 10-100 outbound per month.
       Followups to Voicemails, website leads on their own site, or existing
       client/customer communication

     - 25% just use it to receive SMS messages from their vendors, and
       occasionally use it for business related, like 0-20 outbound per month.

What organization(s) is/are requiring this informal, seemingly non-standard
process of registration for Toll Free SMS?

Why does it take 2-5 business days to read it and turn it on, either
initially or after a shutoff?

Why are messaging carriers shutting down existing Toll Free SMS without
notifying the direct carrier, underlying carrier, or even end user of the
action???

RANT

     The per-message carrier fees are frustrating. Worse on 10DLC than Toll
     Free. I know they are trying to dissuade bad actors, but it also hurts
     small business.

     But what is really insane is the cost of 10DLC, and increasingly the
     time and silent disconnection until "KYC'd" of SMS on Toll Free.

     Toll Free SMS is still better than 10DLC, but 72-hours to get a
     previously-approved-on-one-carrier campaign re-approved on a new carrier
     hurts small businesses. The whole "use case" document for a few hundred
     outbound SMS messages a month, sending to existing customers and new
     website generated leads and calls is overkill.

   Don't get me started on 10DLC via TCR (The Campaign Registry).

     $200.00 NRC Carrier Registration just to register campaigns on behalf
                 of customers
       $4.00 NRC Brand Registration Fee
      $10.00 MRC 2FA
      $10.00 MRC Account Notifications
      $10.00 MRC Conversational Messaging (WTF?!?)
      $10.00 MRC Low Volume Mixed (WTF?!?)

     + Random fees (e.g. $40+ to Aegis + 7 day wait) to increase your "Trust
     Score" so you can send more messages

     + What if I switch to another provider in the future, will I need to
         re-register?

         Yes! As mentioned, each messaging provider is its own unique CSP
         (Campaign Service Provider). Therefore, you would need to go through
         the same process with the new provider when switching over.

     So, switch carriers? Re-pay to re-register all your campaigns.

SUMMARY

What carriers are you using for Toll Free SMS, and what hoops are you
finding that are increasing your time and energy to get working?

Beckman

PS -- If you use ZipWhip, they are shutting down -- where are you going
instead?

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Peter Beckman                                                  Internet Guy
beckman at angryox.com                                https://www.angryox.com/
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