Toll Free A2P SMS Verification - Carrier A

What do you need to know? 

The messaging industry is making changes to the message volumes that can be sent over an unverified Toll-Free number. This is part of the process to verify all Toll-Free numbers and align sender visibility with the Short Code and 10DLC messaging channels. 

On April 1, Twilio will apply the following industry-wide thresholds for messaging sent over Restricted and Pending Toll-Free numbers will be applied:

Restricted

• Daily limit: 500 messages 
• Weekly limit: 1,000 messages
• Monthly limit: 2,000 messages

Pending

• Daily limit: 2,000 messages 
• Weekly limit: 6,000 messages
• Monthly limit: 10,000 messages

These limits aren’t applicable when a Toll-Free number is already verified. 

What do you need to do?

If you have unverified Toll-Free numbers that send messaging traffic over the new limits, please submit these numbers for verification as soon as possible. If you have a large inventory of numbers, please note that you can only register up to 5 toll-free numbers per account. When registering, select the 5 most important numbers for your messaging campaign. 

If you are not currently exceeding these thresholds, we strongly encourage you to register your Toll-Free number(s) as this can help to increase your delivery rate and reduces the potential for messages to be filtered by the wireless carriers. Registration is required for all Toll-Free numbers sending messages to Canada as well.

You cannot use Toll-Free Numbers to text until you have registered each number in the Trust Center. The campaign registration under the Trust Center is a necessary step for text messages to be delivered in the US. You can check the campaign status and verify that the number is within a valid brand and campaign by going to Numbers -> Trust Center in your CTM account. Once your Toll-Free Number Registration is "Pending", you are able to send up to 2,000 outbound text messages daily & 26,000 monthly from the number(s) in the submission. 

How do I register?

1. Navigate to Numbers > Trust Center and click the View button on your Business Registration.
2. Scroll to the Toll-Free Text Messaging Registration section and click the Register/Manage Toll-Free Text Messaging button.
3. Click the Register Toll-Free Texting button in the top right corner.

4. Select up to 5 toll-free numbers to register to enable for sending text messages, then click Next.

5. Choose your Use Case by clicking on the Use Case in the left column to move it to the right column. Next, provide your Use Case Summary. Click Next.
6. Select your Opt-In Type,  add your Opt-In image URLs, and click Next.
7. Next, add your Sample Message, Expected Message Volume, and any additional information you have to help with the verification.
8. Click the Finish button to submit your toll-free registration.

There is a 4-6 week waiting period after submission. Once approval is given for the registration submission, you will be able to send text messages with your Toll-Free Numbers through the A2P routes. During this time, your Phone Numbers are moved to a ‘pending verification’ state that adjusts the messaging limits while your submission is reviewed.

What if you don’t take action?

On April 1, 2023, messages sent via Toll-Free numbers that have not been Verified will be held to the messaging limits referenced above. If they exceed the limits, they’ll be blocked. Using additional Toll-Free numbers (snowshoeing) to exceed these limits isn’t allowed and will result in the same block.

 

Important for Local US Numbers.

To avoid issues with text message deliverability, it is critical to ensure the following:

 

1.  Registered your brand.

2.  Registered a campaign to your brand.

3. Assigned all tracking numbers used for sending text messages to your active campaigns.

 

T-mobile, At&t and Verizon will begin blocking local text message traffic that has not been assigned to a brand and campaign.  Your messages will go undelivered.