What is an SMS Brand and Campaign?

To be able to use SMS messaging to contact customers, an SMS Brand will need to be created for your company/organization. To register an SMS Brand, you will need to provide your company's information, a link to your website that has a Privacy Policy web page, and the type of business that your company identifies as. 

Once an SMS Brand has been created and approved for your company, SMS Campaigns can be created for the different types of text messages that would be sent to your customers. An SMS campaign would need to be registered for each special use case for SMS messaging. For example, if a company needs to send text messages for appointment reminders and another set of text messages for promotional content, the company would need to register two SMS campaigns. 

To ensure your SMS campaigns are approved, you will need to provide a description of what the SMS campaign will be used for, sample messages of the texts that your SMS subscribers will see, a description of the content of text messages sent through this SMS campaign, and the phone numbers that will be sending SMS messages from this SMS campaign.

Why Do I Need to Register an SMS Brand?

Like other types of marketing, such as email, SMS has become a heavily regulated channel of 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 messages may be sent and what type of content may be sent. This change also allows carriers to 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.

These changes apply to all businesses using SMS services; not just the SMS service provided by SpectrumVoIP. To make things as seamless as possible, we have taken great care to register numbers and meet these stipulations to prevent your business from being interrupted and ensure your SMS communications remain compliant with these new regulations.

What is the Cost of SMS Services?

You may have noticed some recent adjustments to your business SMS and MMS pricing. This is due to the federal reclassification of SMS services for carriers. Along with deeper compliance regulations, this change has introduced new costs and surcharges, new content and messaging requirements, and new enforcement mechanisms, including service blockages and fines.

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:

How Can I Prepare to Register for SMS Services?

To be able to use SMS messaging through our services, an SMS brand and campaigns will need to be created, vetted, and verified. To prepare for registering these, certain pieces of information will be needed.

Information Needed for an SMS Brand

To register an SMS brand to be able to utilize our SMS services, our team will need the following information about your company:

• Company's legal name.
• DBA or Brand Name (if different from the company's legal name).
• The company's tax number/EIN and issuing country.
  

  WARNING: Make sure your provided Tax ID matches your company's Legal Name. 

  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. 

   

   
• Alternate business ID type (e.g., DUNS, GIIN, or LEI) and alternate business ID number, if applicable.
• Company's street address, city, state, postal code, and country.
• Website web address if one will be used by users to opt-in for SMS messages.
  

  WARNING: Make sure that the website offers a way for users to opt-in to receive SMS messages. 

  If your website does not have this feature and its address is provided, your SMS campaign may fail verification.

   
• Vertical type (e.g., Media, Insurance, Entertainment, Education, etc.)
• Company's support email address and phone number.

Information Needed for an SMS Campaign

To register an SMS campaign to your brand, our team will need the following information:

• A description of the campaign and its purpose.
• A description of the preferred method for contacting your clients and a message that they can expect to receive. 
  

  Quick Tip: The most commonly used option is “A customer provides their personal info, including telephone number for texting when they call our office at PHONE_NUMBER.”

   
• Whether or not the SMS campaign will utilize Number Pooling.
• If any of the following content will be utilized:
  • Direct lending or loan arrangements.
  • Embedded links.
  • Embedded phone numbers.
  • Age-gated content.
• Phone numbers that should be used for SMS messaging in the SMS campaign.

How Can I Ensure My SMS Registration is Approved?

While you are registering an SMS campaign, your campaign may end up rejected due to missing information. One of the most common reasons an SMS campaign may be rejected is missing proper SMS Opt-in/Opt-Out language that is required by the FCC. Some campaigns can also end up rejected due to an improperly written Privacy Policy web page. 

Prepare Your Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

When you are registering an SMS campaign with SpectrumVoIP, the SMS campaign registry form will ask for a description of your SMS campaign, sample messages, and a link to your website. While your website is being vetted, the Privacy Policy shown on your website will be checked to ensure it includes important information that informs your customers how they can opt-in and opt-out of SMS messages. The Privacy Policy page of the website will also need to include information that informs consumers how your business protects the information provided to you when an end-user opts in for SMS messages. 

Use the menu below to ensure your website's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions meet SMS registration requirements to ensure your SMS brand and its campaigns are vetted and approved.

Use Proper Opt-In Language

An opt-in is a message that asks a customer can agree to if they want to be messaged by your business. The opt-in message must be clear about what the customer can expect from your SMS messages. What type of message do you intend to send them, and for what purpose?

Use the menu below to learn more about how you can ensure your Opt-In messages are properly written and handled:

Required Information for Opt-In Messages

Use the table below to reference the information that is required in your company's initial opt-in messages:

Opt-In Methods

There are many ways you can allow your end-users to opt-in for communications from your company. Some commonly used methods to allow end-users to opt-in include the following:

• Entering a phone number in a form on a website.
  

  For Example… Customers opt-in by visiting www.examplewebsite.com and adding their phone number. They then check a box agreeing to receive text messages from the example brand.

  NOTE: If you are using a website to collect opt-ins, please provide a direct link to the submission form. If this is missing, the campaign will be rejected.

   

   
• Clicking a button on a mobile webpage.
  

  NOTE: If this is how the opt-in is being collected, please provide a website link in the CTA/Message Flow field.

   
• Sending a message from the consumer’s mobile device that contains an advertising keyword.
  

  For Example… Consumers opt-in by texting START to (111) 222-3333

  NOTE: You will need to describe how the end-user is informed to text the keyword/initiate the text messaging conversation. 
  Acceptable explanations of how the consumer is informed include:
      •  A link to a webpage where the keyword opt-in is advertised
      •  An attached screenshot of the keyword opt-in advertisement

   

   
• Signing up at a point of sale (POS) or another message sender on-site location.
  

  NOTE: If the opt-in is collected verbally, you must provide a copy of the opt-in script read to the consumer.

   
• Opting in over the phone using interactive voice response (IVR) technology.

Keep Record of Opt-Ins

Under TCPA rules, there are also certain types of opt-ins – including for automated SMS marketing messages – which must be documented in writing. If you plan on sending promotional messages to customers, make sure you’re properly logging all opt-ins.

What are you expected to keep track of in your records? Here’s a quick guide to what you should take note of when documenting opt-in requests:

• Timestamp of consent acquisition
• Consent acquisition medium (e.g., cell-submit form, physical sign-up form, SMS keyword, etc.)
• Capture of experience (e.g., language and action) used to secure consent
• Specific campaign for which the opt-in was provided
• IP address used to grant consent (if applicable) 
• Consumer phone number for which consent to receive messaging was granted
• Identity of the individual who consented (name of the individual or other identifier, e.g., online username, session ID, etc.)
• Documenting all opt-ins for at least six years is required by some mobile network operators. It provides proof that you have received consent to send to that destination number

Use Proper Opt-Out Language

In the event that a customer consents to receive your messages via an opt-in method, they retain the right to revoke their consent. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) states that customers must be able to opt-out through “any reasonable means”. Opt-out method can be a phone call, a text message, a web form, etc. It is your responsibility to make the opt-out process straightforward and accessible for customers.

The most common opt-out method is to let consumers respond to the SMS with the text “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE”. There are other ways to handle opt-outs as well. 

How Can I Meet SMS Compliance Standards?

While using SMS messages to contact your customers, your business should observe and follow the following standards:

• Obtain proper consent before sending messages to a user.
• Text appropriate content at the right times from a business number registered to an SMS campaign.
• Allow subscribers to receive support and opt out of text messages from your business.
• Honor any opt-out requests.

Understand Proper Consumer Consent

In order for your business to be able to send your customers SMS messages, your users will need to give their consent. Consent cannot be obtained through buying, selling, or exchanging it. Customers must give proper, written consent for messages through a form, such as an online prompt on your website. Improperly obtaining consent (e.g., purchasing a phone list from another party to obtain the consent of message recipients) can open you up to lawsuits and fines.

When customers give their consent and opt-in for SMS messages, they must have a way to withdraw their consent and opt-out of SMS messages. The opt-out process must be easy and accessible for your users. Not giving your users a way to opt-out will result in your SMS campaign being denied. 

If you use SpectrumVoIP's messaging platform for your application or service as a software or platform provider, you must ensure that your customers comply with these same requirements when dealing with their own users and customers.

Types of Messages and Required Consent

The CTIA Messaging Guidelines say that all A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging requires customer consent. The type and extent of consent needed for each is based on the messaging type and frequency. 

Keep Record of Opt-Ins

Under TCPA rules, there are also certain types of opt-ins – including for automated SMS marketing messages – which must be documented in writing. If you plan on sending promotional messages to customers, make sure you’re properly logging all opt-ins.

What are you expected to keep track of in your records? Here’s a quick guide to what you should take note of when documenting opt-in requests:

• Timestamp of consent acquisition
• Consent acquisition medium (e.g., cell-submit form, physical sign-up form, SMS keyword, etc.)
• Capture of experience (e.g., language and action) used to secure consent
• Specific campaign for which the opt-in was provided
• IP address used to grant consent (if applicable) 
• Consumer phone number for which consent to receive messaging was granted
• Identity of the individual who consented (name of the individual or other identifier, e.g., online username, session ID, etc.)
• Documenting all opt-ins for at least six years is required by some mobile network operators. It provides proof that you have received consent to send to that destination number

What if I Need to Use a Different SMS Provider's Services?

For some businesses, it may be necessary to have a phone number they own hosted by a separate SMS provider. If you have a SMS provider that you would prefer to work with for hosting your SMS services, let our technical support team know. A technical support specialist can explore your options and help give you guidance for making this transition.