Like other types of marketing, such as email, SMS has become a heavily regulated channel for communication. In the U.S., businesses that communicate with customers over text must stay compliant with state and federal laws, as well as the guidelines of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA).
In 2018, SMS communications were reclassified as an informational service, which gave US mobile carriers the ability to regulate the rules of how SMS may be sent, what type of content may be sent, and implement new fees for various types of SMS. Then in 2021, US mobile carriers (including Verizon, AT&T, and T-mobile) reclassified all business SMS as 10DLC A2P (Application to Person), a new type of SMS with further regulation, registration requirements, and fees.
How does this affect my business?
Great question. You may have noticed some recent adjustments to your business SMS and MMS pricing. That’s due to the SMS reclassification. Along with deeper compliance regulations, this has introduced new costs and surcharges, new content and messaging requirements, and new enforcement mechanisms, including service blockages and fines.
Failure to comply with these new regulations can result in increased costs, SMS messages being blocked, or significant fines. That’s why SpectrumVoIP has been proactively working with mobile carriers to help our customers stay compliant, reduce the impact of these charges, and prevent interruptions in day-to-day business operations.
And the change applies to all business SMS, not just SMS provided by SpectrumVoIP. To make things as seamless as possible, we’ve taken great care to register numbers and meet these stipulations, preventing your business from being interrupted and ensuring your SMS communications remain compliant with these new regulations.
Per 10DLC regulations, SpectrumVoIP cannot provide SMS / MMS functionality to businesses with the legal entity type of Sole Proprietorship without EINs. All businesses must provide an EIN to SpectrumVoIP at setup.
Each campaign can support up to 49 SMS / MMS-activated numbers.
Businesses enrolled will incur a $500 fee for non-use after 90 days.
What:
There are new SMS and MMS pricing and regulations that may adjust your bill. We will be sending out additional information on how to activate SMS / MMS for your business.
When:
Starting November 1, 2022
Why:
This change is due to business SMS being reclassified by carriers. This may add new fees, registration requirements, and content guidelines to address increases in spam and fraud.
Pricing:
SpectrumVoIP is always committed to bringing transparent, simple, and affordable rates to our customers, and the new SMS / MMS adjustments are no exception.
- One-time, initial Campaign Registration Fee – $25.00
- Monthly Campaign Fee – $10.00
- Inbound and Outbound SMS / MMS messages – $0.01075 each
Inbound and outbound SMS / MMS message charges by carrier:
Further Resources:
Learn more about these changes at: https://www.spectrumvoip.com/privacy-terms/#sms