New and Improved Option Available!
Clients formerly registered for a Starter Brand Plan must re-register.
The major mobile carriers in the United States announced this week and abrupt change to the business texting guidelines previously published. Any company that uses any application to send text messages to prospects – whether it’s via your CRM, a cloud-phone system, or even Google Voice – must be registered for A2P 10DLC. The Starter Plan is no longer active as of October 4, 2022 and clients must now re-register for a new plan. The good news is that they created a superior option for low-volume testing.
Learn what A2P 10DLC stands for and why it exists.
What happened to the Starter Brand Plan?
The Starter Brand Plan was for businesses who sent fewer than 3000 SMS or MMS messages a day and was limited to 5 phone numbers. The carriers have decided to make this plan available only to sole proprietors who use their Social Security Number (SSN) for business purposes. No entity who has an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax purposes is allowed to use this plan any more. Think: individual dog walker = yes; small business = no.
What if I was already registered as an A2P Starter Brand?
If you were already registered – first of all: congrats! You are ahead of the curve. Unfortunately, as part of this process, as of October 4, 2022, the carriers cut off access to any company who registered for the A2P 10DLC Starter Brand using an EIN. This means that you have been automatically de-registered from A2P.
All clients of smrtPhone who were registered as a Starter Brand must now re-register for A2P.
What are the new A2P 10DLC plan options?
The original Standard Brand Plan remains operational. There is now a new plan option called the Low Volume Standard Brand (LVSB) that we think will appeal to the majority of smrtPhone clients.
Low Volume Standard Brand Plan
- Up to 6000 text/SMS/MMS messages per day (up to 2000 permitted by T-Mobile)
- Up to 400 phone numbers
- One campaign type: Mixed Use campaign, which allows for a variety of messages – templated or conversational.
- One time registration fee: $4
- Ongoing monthly fee: $1.50/mo.
Standard Brand Plan
- Up to 200,000 text/SMS/MMS messages per day – or more, with special permission
- Up to 400 phone numbers per campaign – or more, with special permission
- Choose from a wide variety of Campaign types depending on your needs (see Standard Brand Campaign Types options)
- One time registration fee: $44
- Ongoing monthly fee: $2-10/mo. depending on campaign type
How do I register for a Low Volume Standard Brand Plan?
If you were previously on Starter Plan or if you are new to A2P 10DLC and have decided that the LVSB plan is right for you, it’s really simple to register.
First, you must make sure you have an approved Trust Center business profile. For all clients who were previously on Starter Plan, you have already completed this step and we still have your information stored.
Next, head to the smrtPhone Trust Center and click on Register under the A2P 10DLC section. Select Starter Brand option and follow the guide.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to register for a Low Volume Standard Brand Plan (LVSB) >>
How long does it take to be approved for a LVSB?
It takes just a few minutes to have your authorization as a low volume sender of text messages to be approved. If you find your registration is taking more than 24 hours to clear, please contact our Support team on chat, weekdays from 9am-9pm.
Do I really have to register for A2P 10DLC?
Yes, this is the new industry standard. Unregistered messages are expected to fail. And, they cost more per-message.
Why has all of this happened so suddenly?
We wish we had the answer for this; it is affecting all phone/SMS providers nationwide. We are really sorry for the inconvenience. Once we received word from the carriers, we moved as fast as we could to get the new Low Volume registration portal up and running. We will be reaching out individually to each client that this will affect and helping you through the process.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Support via live chat, weekdays 9am-9pm ET.
We appreciate your patience!
