Like everything in the communications industry—or technology as a whole—there are lots of pieces and lots of acronyms. The language around 10DLC messaging campaigns and brand/campaign registration is no exception, but it’s useful to know who’s who when attempting to register and keep your campaigns moving, especially if texts are a regular part of your revenue stream.
You’re the Sender
Chances are if you’re reading this, you are either a “Brand” or a “Reseller.” The brand is whomever the recipient of a text perceives the message to be coming from; this could be a company, business, or product. Usually the assumption is the “business” brand—think, for example, Coca-Cola or Nike, which might or might not be the corporate entity. Brands must register as the owner of messaging campaigns before they can register actual campaigns. In particular, it’s important to note that the brand should use the official name and address associated with its EIN number for approval.
Other companies, known as “resellers,” work with multiple brands and may handle their messaging campaigns for them. Good examples of these are marketing or advertising agencies.
If you’re a reseller and have contracts with multiple brands, you can register those brands and their campaigns but it’s important to note that you are the reseller and not the brand. Why? Each registered brand will be assigned daily threshold or text-per-minute limits for their campaigns, and you don’t want your reseller business constrained by the limits of one of your brands. For more information, see our Brand Registration post.
Working with CSPs and DCAs
A “Campaign Service Provider,” or CSP, is a company that operates an SMS/MMS messaging platform and is typically who you work directly with to send texting campaigns. Commio is a CSP. A campaign service provider can’t register your brand or campaigns for you, but a good CSP will stay current on the latest changes and help you through the process.
Commio, for example, allows you to register your brand and campaign directly in the Commio portal and our experts can provide support, as well as send out regular informational updates (contact your account manager or the support team to request access) Note that while a CSP has no say in whether a brand or campaign is approved, or what throughput limits a brand will be assigned, we can provide tips to optimize your outcome. For more information on Campaign Registrations, see the related blog.
“Direct Connect Aggregators” (DCAs) are the link between CSPs and carriers. They connect directly to the carrier gateways and transmit messaging campaigns from a CSP to a carrier. Note that Commio is one of the few CSPs to work with all of the major DCAs.
The Big Enchilada
Last but not least are the “Carriers,” also known as “Mobile Network Operators” (MNOs). These are the actual networks, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Verizon in particular legitimized 10DLC messaging campaigns, and the MNOs in general created the mechanism for policing campaigns to minimize spam. They are also in charge of determining whether a brand or campaign is approved and what the related fees will be. You can read about the history of 10DLC messaging and its advantages here.
The Campaign Registry (TCR) is an independent entity set up by the carriers to register brands and A2P 10DLC campaigns. Registration information submitted via the Commio portal is then shared automatically with TCR.
Let’s Get Started
The new 10DLC messaging system has a lot of moving parts and can seem a little daunting to even veteran text campaigners. In the end, however, the new registry system will reduce spam and improve the visibility and conversion of legitimate messages. And Commio is committed to supporting you every step of the way.
See also: 10DLC History, Advantages | Brand Registry | Campaign Registry | Registration How-To | T-Mobile Fees
