To combat SMS spam, it was decided to implement toll-free numbers verification for SMS. This article covers the major points that would most likely affect your business messaging.
What it’s all about?
Spam messages became much of an issue in the United States and Canada. As a result, a new verification procedure was born to complicate the life of spammers.
All major carriers agreed on verifying TFNs by sending the information about the company that is going to use a TFN to the downstream toll-free carrier. The verification initiative is jointly managed by major carriers, MightyCall and our suppliers.
You may have heard of A2P 10DLC (if not, you can find the article here). Yet, unfortunately, it does not impact TFNs, thus this new procedure was initiated. This process will not impact any voice services of yours. Also, the verification is free of charge.
Why verify?
If you don’t want your toll-free SMS to end up in a spam filter firewall and be bounced back, your TFN should be verified as valid. These filtering restrictions apply to all major networks in the USA and Canada, so there is hardly a way any TF spam can outsmart it.
A completed verification process significantly lowers the chance of your legit TF SMS going through these filters and being marked as spam by mistake.
How to verify?
Generally the verification process takes up to 3-4 weeks, however, we currently observe delays, so the entire verification procedure might take up to 5-6 weeks.
We highly recommend completing the following form as soon as possible to avoid messaging disruptions.
Once the form is reviewed and approved, you will receive a notification from our Customer Care team. In case it is rejected, we will inform you as well.
Limits applied
Effective November 8, 2023, the following daily, weekly, and monthly limits will be applied industry-wide for outgoing SMS traffic:
From the toll-free numbers pending verification, per phone number:
Daily limit: 2,000 message segments;
Weekly limit: 6,000 message segments;
Monthly limit: 10,000 message segments.
All messages, regardless of being successful or not, will count toward the daily, weekly, and monthly volumes. For example, if you send 10,000 messages on the first of the month, the first 2,000 messages will be allowed to send, and the remaining 8,000 messages will be blocked. All 10,000 messages will count toward the weekly and monthly totals.
Unverified outgoing SMS traffic will be blocked.