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

[Ivan Kovacevic]

ZW was / is at the core of TFN messaging. Going by their lore, they
developed carrier relationships for TFN messaging outside of what
Synniverse and other large aggregators already had in place. And they did
it by policing the medium to ensure it didn't turn into a cesspool that
local number SMS turned into.

Anyone you go to will ultimately just be using Twilio (who acquired ZW).

There is a clear anti-competitive angle in Twilio's acquisition of ZW...
but it didn't register anywhere. oh well.


[image: Star Telecom - Cloud Communications and Customer Experience
Solutions] <https://www.startelecom.ca/>

*Ivan Kovacevic*

*Co-Founder and VP Client Services*




On Tue, Feb 8, 2022 at 2:49 PM Peter Beckman <beckman at angryox.com> wrote:

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