| Restricted country The United States has SMS restrictions in place. Before you can send messages to this country, you must request approval from MessageBird. More info: Requesting Access for Restricted Countries. |
In order to send SMS to the United States, customers are required to:
1) Order a local number from the Options below. Ordering and registration procedures vary.
2) Request access to be able to send SMS to this Restricted Country
3) Use your local number as the originator
MessageBird offers 3 types of numbers for sending SMS messages to the United States. Here you can compare the various features of each number type and determine which number is the best fit for your use case.
| Short Code | Toll-Free Number | 10DLC - FAQ | |
| How to order | via Account Manager | via Support or Account Manager | via Dashboard |
| Type of Number | Five/Six digit Short Code | Toll-Free Number | Geographical Number |
| Example | 12345 | 18885555555 | 13458674329 |
| SMS enabled | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice-enabled | No | Yes | Yes |
| MMS enabled | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2-Way Possible | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Suggested Use Cases | High volumes, Marketing, 2FA, Alerts | Low - Medium volumes, 2FA, Non-Marketing & Marketing, Customer Service, Alert Notifications |
Low - Medium volumes, All Use Cases
|
| Mixed Use Cases | Yes | Yes |
Not advised
|
| Unicode | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Concatenated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Carrier DLR's | Yes | Yes | No |
| Service Restrictions | Content pre-approved by CTIA. Content must follow CTIA Guidelines* and local regulations | Content pre-approved via Use Case Verification form. Content must follow CTIA Guidelines* and local regulations | Content must follow CTIA Guidelines* and local regulations |
| Daily Send Limit | N/A | N/A | Yes. TBC by operators on case by case basis after 10DLC registration |
| Throughput Limit | High. TBC by operators on case by case basis | Medium/High (increase after Use Case Verification) | TBC by operators on case by case basis after 10DLC registration |
| Pass-through fee** | Yes, depending on the recipient's operators | Yes, depending on the recipient's operators | Yes, depending on the use case and recipient's operators |
| Inbound Charge | Yes | Yes | No. Only carrier pass-through fees |
| Setup Time | 8-12 weeks | 1 business day Use case verification can take up to 1 week |
1 week |
| Minimum Subscription Period | 3 months | N/A | 12 months |
*Find here the current CTIA Guidelines
** Passthrough fees are determined by the operators and are subject to change. This is out of MessageBird's control.
Additional Carrier Pass-through Fees
There are additional Carrier Pass-through fees per message on top of MessageBird message rates. These are determined by the operators and are subject to change.
*Note: These additional costs will be added to current MessageBird message rates. Message charges will continue to be: Base MessageBird message rate + Surcharge to destination carrier = Total message cost.
|
AT&T |
T-Mobile (inc Sprint) |
Verizon |
US Cellular |
TextNow |
Message Direction |
|
|
SMS Short Code / Carrier Fee in USD |
$.0025 |
$.0025 |
$.0025 |
$.0035 |
free |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mob |
|
SMS Toll-free Number / Carrier Fee in USD |
$.0025 |
$.0030 |
$.0025 |
$.0025 |
$.0015 |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mob and US Cellular |
|
MMS Toll-free Number / Carrier Fee in USD |
$.0030 |
$.0100 |
$.0050 |
$.0050 |
$.0020 |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mob and US Cellular |
|
SMS 10DLC / Carrier Fee in USD - Registered |
$.0020 |
$.0030 |
$.0025 |
$.0050 |
$.0020 |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mobile |
|
SMS 10DLC / Carrier Fee in USD - Unegistered |
$.0020 |
$.0040 |
$.0025 |
$.0050 |
$.0020 |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mobile |
|
MMS 10DLC / Carrier Fee in USD |
$.0035 |
$.0100 |
$.0050 |
$.0100 |
$.0020 |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mobile |
|
MMS 10DLC / Carrier Fee in USD |
$.0035 |
$.0130 |
$.0050 |
$.0100 |
$.0020 |
Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mobile |
OPT-IN and OPT-OUT Compliance
MessageBird will monitor standard OPT-IN and OPT-OUT keywords (see list below) to ensure compliance with the applicable regulations. If an opt-out request is received, MessageBird will process it and block future communications between the Sender and the Recipient (opt-out number) until this same Recipient (the end-user) OPT-IN again by sending the appropriate keyword. Personalized opt-out acknowledgement, non-standard opt-out words - for example, in different languages - as well opted-out number tracking can be set up by customers using Flow Builder or, if you use Contacts, activating the Automatic SMS Subscriptions (Opt-in/Opt-out).
Standard OPT-OUT keywords used by MessageBird are (all case insensitive) are
- stop *
- stopall
- unsubscribe
- quit
- cancel
- end
* No personalized opt-out confirmation is allowed for Toll-Free Numbers. For those keywords, the carriers will send a standard one and block traffic immediately. This restriction does not apply to Long codes and Short codes.
Standard OPT-IN keywords used by MessageBird are (all case insensitive) are
- unstop
- start
- yes
Support to HELP keyword for Opted-Out end-users
Each MessageBird customer must support the HELP keyword and send required HELP messages to end-users. HELP requests should be supported at all times, even when it is requested by opted-out end-users.
To prevent abuse and unsolicited content delivery, Messagebird will allow only pre-approved HELP templates to be sent to OPTED-OUT end-users. Customized messages remain available for OPTED-IN end-users.
To avoid blocking, please ensure your HELP answer to OPTED-OUT end-users matches the following template:
Manage your preferences. Reply STOP to opt-out or START to opt-in. Msg&Data rates may apply.