A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) was designed as a messaging solution that enables businesses to send text messages from a local 10DLC number in the United States (US). A2P 10DLC is designed and sanctioned for business messaging. It offers upgraded stability, delivery reliability, and security to businesses and their audiences. It also supports the volume of messaging throughput that many businesses need.
In this article, you'll learn some background information about A2P 10DLC and find out how you can use it in your organization.
This article covers the following topics:
- A2P 10DLC Background
- Registering (requirements for A2P 10DLC)
- Understanding different types of Zendesk Text use cases
- T-Mobile's A2P 10DLC Non-Compliance Fines
A2P 10DLC Background
The US long codes widely used by businesses in previous years were designed for person-to-person (P2P) communications only. They have low volume throughput and lack necessary security standards resulting in many spam messages being sent to customers. Phone carriers consider them to be an unsanctioned route for business texts. For this reason, messages are often subject to blocking and throttling.
Verizon was the first US carrier to introduce A2P 10DLC messaging in 2019. Increased demand for high throughput text messaging for legitimate use cases spurred other carriers (including T-Mobile & AT&T) to launch their own version of 10DLC in 2021.
Registering (requirements for A2P 10DLC)
US carriers implemented A2P 10DLC, therefore businesses who use Zendesk to communicate with their US based customers through text messaging must register their business information and use cases to avoid carrier filtering. To register, fill in the Zendesk Text A2P 10DLC Registration form.
Understanding different types of Zendesk Text use cases
If you are required to register for A2P 10DLC, let us know your specific use case for using Zendesk Text. The following table lists the different use case scenarios:
|
Use case |
Description |
|
Two-factor authentication (2FA) |
Any authentication or account verification such as one-time password (OTP). |
|
Account notifications |
Notifications about the status of an account or related to being a part of an account. |
|
Customer care |
Support, account management, and other avenues of customer interaction. |
|
Delivery notifications |
Information regarding the status of a delivery. |
|
Fraud alert messaging |
Messaging about a potentially fraudulent activity, such as spending alerts. |
|
Higher education |
Message campaigns from colleges, universities, and other education institutions. |
|
Marketing |
Promotional content such as sales and limited-time offers. |
|
Mixed |
A campaign that covers multiple use cases, such as customer care and delivery notifications. |
|
Polling and voting |
For conducting polling and voting, such as customer surveys. Not for political use. |
|
Public service announcement |
PSAs raise audience awareness about a given topic |
|
Security alert |
Notification of a compromised system (software or hardware related). |
T-Mobile's A2P 10DLC Non-Compliance Fines
T-Mobile has rolled out non-compliance fines for A2P 10DLC messages that contain prohibited content. If T-Mobile identifies any messages that breach the violation tiers outlined below, they will issue a Sev-0 violation, the most severe consumer violation. This will result in a non-compliance fine, and carriers will promptly block the offending messages.
This policy applies to all commercial messaging non-consumer A2P products (SMS or MMS short code, toll-free, and 10DLC) that traverse the T-Mobile network.
Because Sev-0 violations also infringe on Twilio’s acceptable use and messaging policies, Zendesk will pass on these fines to you for every Sev-0 violation, starting February 15, 2024. These fines include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Tier 1 ($2,000): This includes phishing (including simulated phishing sent for security testing or similar purposes), smishing, and social engineering. Social Engineering is a technique used to manipulate someone into sharing private information, like passwords or credit card numbers.
- Tier 2 ($1,000): This includes illegal content (content must be legal federally and in all 50 states).
- Tier 3 ($500): This includes all other violations in commercial messaging including but not limited to, SHAFT (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco) that do not follow federal and state law and regulations (e.g. age-gate).
These non-compliance fines apply to violations across any A2P messaging product (SMS/MMS short code, toll-free, and 10DLC).
Consequences of Excessive Violations
T-Mobile reserves the right to permanently suspend any brands, campaigns, and your company’s access to the T-Mobile Network in the event violations are deemed to be excessive. If you are subject to these fines, Zendesk will send you a Sev-0 violation notice and will subsequently charge the respective fine amount.
For more information, review T-Mobile’s Code of Conduct Section 5: Prohibited Campaign Content.