While it sounds like a droid from Star Wars, A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) is a critical messaging standard that ensures SMS and MMS traffic to U.S. end-users is verified and consensual. We'll help you get a deeper understanding of A2P 10DLC and how you can use it to securely deliver a high volume text messages to customers.

Understanding A2P messaging 

Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging is when a software application sends a text message to an end user. 

Businesses use A2P messaging to send high volumes of automated messages per second, making it an ideal solution for notifications, alerts, promotional offers, and other bulk communications. For a message to be sent to a customer, it must first pass through a carrier-vetted SMS/MMS gateway.

A2P 10DLC explained 

10DLC is an acronym for “10-digit long code” and refers to a 10-digit phone number with a local area code. 10DLC numbers are approved by mobile network operators for A2P business text messaging, which is what distinguishes them from other 10-digit numbers. After a mobile network approves an A2P 10DLC phone number, businesses can use it to send large volumes of text messages.

The need for A2P 10DLC 

In 2022, the number of spam text messages exceeded robocalls. As a response, the CITA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) enforced stricter guidelines around blocking text messages from illegal or fraudulent numbers, including those sent from virtual phone services.  As part of these requirements, A2P 10DLC ensures legitimate businesses can reach customers through SMS without phone carriers filtering their messages, and also prevent malicious actors from spamming individuals. 

To send high-volume A2P 10DLC messages, companies must register their Brand and Campaign with The Campaign Registry (TCR) via the business’ text messaging service. Businesses must register their brand to prove their identity and register a Campaign to document the types of messages they will send. FreeClimb helps to simplify the registration process.

There are two volume classifications for A2P 10DLC messaging: A2P Low Volume Standard and A2P Standard. Businesses sending 6,000 marketing text messages or fewer per day fall in the Low Volume category, and those sending more than that fall in Standard.

The below tables provide a break-down of message throughput per minute for AT&T and daily volume caps for T-Mobile by A2P 10DLC Message Class, Brand Tier, and Use Case. As well, after completing the A2P brand registration and vetting process, companies will receive a Vetting Score from 0-100. This rating influences message throughput and daily cap rates allocated to a company’s SMS/MMS Campaign.

AT&T

T-Mobile

Benefits of A2P 10DLC 

Registered A2P 10DLC Brands and message Campaigns offer many advantages for business communications.

Faster and more cost-effective bulk messaging 

A2P 10DLC enables organizations to reliably send text messages at high throughput rates and high volume. How many text messages a company can send and at what rate depends on the type of campaign they’ve been approved for and the type of messages they’re sending.

Optimal delivery rates

A2P 10DLC was designed in part to facilitate legitimate business text messaging. After an organization is approved for bulk A2P sending, they will enjoy the best text message delivery rates possible. This benefit helps teams ensure their Campaigns are reaching customers at the desired time and frequency to achieve the highest engagement possible. 

Local presence

With A2P 10DLC, companies have a wide range of SMS phone numbers with local area codes to choose from for their SMS and MMS campaigns.

Brand credibility 

A2P 10DLC approval ensures phone carriers and ultimately end customers trust that text messages are coming from a legitimate business and are not spam. Because companies are required to complete the A2P 10DLC approval process, including providing business address and Tax ID information, phone carriers are empowered to verify a company's brand and take action if issues arise.

A2P 10DLC use cases 

There are many use cases for companies to use A2P 10DLC, including customer communications and marketing campaigns. The most common industries that use A2P 10DLC consistently include retail and ecommerce, hospitality and travel, financial services, healthcare, fitness, and other service-based organizations like beauty salons or home services. 

Here are a few examples of the types of text messages commercial businesses commonly send through A2P 10DLC Campaigns: 

• Authentication codes to validate new users: With the broader adoption of two-factor authentication, 2FA has become an increasingly common use for A2P 10DLC
• Fraud alerts: Messages about suspected fraudulent activity, including spending alerts 
• Delivery notifications: Information on the status of a delivery 
• Marketing messages: Promotional content for sales, new products, etc.
• Security alerts: Notifications about platform outage or compromised systems, both hardware and software
• Public service announcements: PSAs to raise audience awareness about a timely topic 
• Political campaigns: Messages regarding upcoming official elections
• Higher education: Campaigns from colleges, universities, and higher education institutions 
• Customer surveys and feedback: Asking customers to rate their experience, write a review, or complete surveys 
• Appointment reminders: Reminder messages for appointments or restaurant reservations, including booking confirmations 
• Event announcements: Regional announcements for in-person events or wider communications for virtual events 
• Holiday greetings and birthday messages: Custom messages to wish customers a happy birthday or wish them greetings on other holidays throughout the year 
• Company announcements: Letting customers know when brick-and-mortar locations will be closed, new hires on the leadership team, company philanthropic efforts, plans for new locations or products, etc. ‍
• Policy changes affecting customers: Information on relevant policy changes, including updates to privacy policies

A2P 10DLC made easy with FreeClimb 

While A2P 10DLC might not be able to fix your X-Wing in the middle of a galactic space battle, it does have some force-like qualities for ensuring your text messages get delivered safely and your customers enjoy a good brand experience.   

FreeClimb gets you started with A2P 10DLC by streamlining the process to register your SMS and MMS Brand(s) and Campaign(s) with TCR, and by providing your business with one or more carrier-approved phone numbers to run your campaign(s). 

With FreeClimb, you can ensure your business maintains the highest standards of security and regulatory compliance, with certifications for HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA. Enterprise-level support is available to assist with questions and issues that arise, and our large-scale infrastructure enables the highest levels of deliverability and scalability. 

Get started sending bulk A2P 10DLC text messages without doing the heavy lifting.