SMS phone number types

In the US and Canada, there are different types of phone numbers used for messaging:

• Long codes (A2P 10DLC)
• Short codes
• Toll-Free numbers

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• All three types of numbers must be registered with US telecom operators after you purchase the phone number.
• All three numbers will support two-way communication.

Long codes (A2P 10DLC)

A 10-digit long code 10DLC is a standard 10-digit phone number used for business messaging in the United States. It was developed as a solution for businesses that were using person-to-person (P2P) numbers for application-to-person (A2P) messaging.

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To buy a long code number and register, contact support.

• Registration process: The delivery team must fill out this excel sheet and share the details with the product team. Registration will take 15-20 days after submitting all the information.
• Usage: Once registered, businesses can send and receive SMS and MMS messages to US and Canada using Infobip, by following the SMS guidelines.
• Message throughput: The message throughput of A2P 10DLC in the US depends on your brand type, campaign type (use case), and Trust Score (for standard brands).
• Benefits: A2P 10DLC is best suited for customer service and non-marketing messages.

Short Codes

Short codes are 5 to 6-digit numbers used for addressing messages in both Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) and Short Message Service (SMS) from mobile phones.

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To buy a short code number and register, contact support.

• Registration process: To utilize short codes, businesses must complete a short code application, providing their company address and website. This process ensures no carrier filtering, as long as you adhere to the use case submitted in your short code application.
• Usage: Once your number is registered, businesses can send only SMS messages within the US.
• Message throughput: By default, you can send 100 SMS messages per second. However, this limit can be increased for an additional fee.
• Benefits: Short codes are best suited for marketing campaigns for transactional interactions and two-factor authentication (2FA).

Toll-free Numbers

Toll-Free numbers are 10-digit numbers (+1 8NN XXX-XXXX where NN is two repeated digits (for example, +1 833)). These numbers are free for the caller, and the cost of the call is paid for by the business or organization that owns the Toll-Free number. They are commonly used for customer service and support interactions.

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To buy a Toll-free number and register, contact support.

• Registration process: To use Toll-Free numbers, businesses must first verify their number. The verification process reduces the risk of carrier filtering.
• Registration requirements: For registration, it does not require a tax ID or business license.
• Usage: Once a phone number is verified, businesses can start sending Toll-Free SMS messages from that number by following the SMS guidelines.
• Message throughput: By default, you can send up to 3 MPS (message segments per second). But the throughput can be increased based on your requirements.
• Benefits: Toll-Free numbers are best suited for Application-to-Person (A2P), such as marketing campaigns, reminders, and notifications.

FAQs

1. What is the difference between Short codes and Long code numbers?

   Long-code	Short code
   Consists of up to 15 digits	Typically of 5 or 6 digits
   Includes country code followed by area number and phone number	Does not include a country code
   Used for Person-to-person (P2P) and application-to-person (A2P) messaging	Used for high-volume A2P messaging and service subscriptions
   Functions like a regular phone number	Easy to remember and use for quick communication
   Example: +1 123-456-7890, +44 20 7946 0958	Example: 12345, 67890

2. What is difference between Short code and Toll-free numbers?

   Short code	Toll-Free number
   Consists of 5 or 6 digits	Consists of 10-digit numbers.
   Used for marketing campaigns, alerts, promotions	Used Customer support, inquiries, service lines
   Highly scalable for sending bulk messages	Suitable for handling large call volumes

3. What is the difference between long-code, short code and Toll-free numbers?

Feature	Long-code	Short code	Toll-Free
Digits	Consist of 10 digits	Consist of 5-6 digits	consists of 10 digits, often starting with 800, 888.
Country code	Includes country code	Does not include a country code	Does not include a country code
Cost	Standard messaging rates	Free for customers	Free for customers
Purpose	P2P (Person-to-Person) and A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging	High-volume A2P messaging, service subscriptions	SMS for customer service, support
Message type	SMS and MMS	Primarily for SMS	Supports both voice and SMS
Use cases	Customer service, appointment reminders, campaign management	Marketing campaigns, alerts, promotions	Customer support, inquiries, service lines
International access	Often restricted to the country of origin	Usually limited to the country of origin	Often accessible internationally
Message throughput	Lower throughput	Higher throughput	Moderate throughput for calls and SMS
Usage	Supports US and Canada	Supports only US	Supports US and Canada

4. What are the benefits of short code?

   Businesses prefer using short codes for customer communication due to their key benefits:

   • Scalability: Short codes allow for faster message delivery, especially for large volumes. For example, sending alerts to 50,000 subscribers is about 50 times quicker with a short code.
   • Ease of use: Short codes are easier to remember and use in marketing materials compared to long phone numbers.
   • Recognizability: Messages from short codes are instantly recognizable as business communications, enhancing brand identity.

5. What are the benefits of long-code?

   Following are the benefits of long-codes:

   • They support SMS and MMS making them suitable for a wide range of business applications, including customer service, appointment reminders, and campaign management.
   • Long-code reduces costs as the messages and calls are routed via the internet rather than traditional telephone infrastructure, eliminating the need for additional hardware and maintenance.

6. What are the benefits of toll-free numbers?

   Following are the benefits of toll-free numbers:

   • Toll-free numbers allow customers to call your business without incurring any charges.
   • Toll-free numbers are accessible from anywhere in the country, and often internationally, making it easier for customers from different regions to contact your business.