Understanding Promotional, Transactional, And Service Bulk SMS Routes in DLT

The menace created by unsolicited SMS is increasing at a thunderous rate. Even after taking preventive measures for spamming and imposing the Do Not Disturb (DND) activation facility, there is no relief from this rattrap. Till date, customers are suffering from uninvited messages, unwanted SMS as well as falling prey to phishing attacks. In order to guard consumers’ interest, TRAI has notified The Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) 2018 and has declared certain guidelines to regulate fraudulent practices and bring an end to spam messages. In accordance with the new regulations introduced by TRAI, the companies systems will be managed using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

According to which, every individual/business needs to register with the telecom operators on the DLT platform in order to continue sending SMS to their clients and customers without interruption. Each Individual/Business(Principal Entity) and Telemarketer will be accountable to telecom operators(Access Providers) who will be directly accountable to TRAI.

After introducing the new regulations, there are slight changes in A2P Messaging routes. This blog shall help us understand the various routes involved in sending Bulk SMS.

Promotional Bulk SMS route in DLT:

This route allows delivery of Promotional marketing SMS for advertising a product or service. This enables companies to promote the ongoing offers and discounts available to the customers and are only sent to Non-DND Numbers. Customers can set a particular time duration to receive promotional messages according to their own interests. For Example, if the user wants to receive SMS on Monday from 9 AM to 11 AM, then the messages will only be delivered to him at that particular time on Monday from 9 AM to 11 AM.

In order for sending promotional messages, a Sender ID (Header) needs to be created and it should comprise 6 numeric digits (not more or less). The use of alphabetic characters for creating Headers in the promotional routes are restricted and every Header will involve a unique ID set by the operator. For better understanding, there is an example to explain the same; Dear User, Get up to 60% off on shopping of Rs. 2500/- and above. Hurry up! Offer valid for a limited time.

Transactional Bulk SMS route in DLT:

As per the TRAI guidelines, the Transactional Bulk SMS route are reserved only for Banks for sending One Time Password (OTP) to complete an online transaction initiated by the bank customer. All National/Private/Scheduled/Government and MNC Banks can use the Transactional route to send OTPs.

This involves Banks to create a Header (Sender ID) of six alphabetic characters for delivery Transactional messages For example, Dear Customer, OTP for the transaction of INR 5000 is 80976. Please do not share it with anyone.

Service Bulk SMS route in DLT:

These involve an enterprise sending informational SMS about a product or service to its customers. The Header (Sender ID) comprises of six alphabetic characters. There are 2 kinds of categories in the Service route – Implicit and Explicit. Service implicit messages involve sending informative message such as a purchase confirmation, order status, alerts, reminders, etc. One such example is; Dear Customer, your order is being prepared and will be delivered within 20 minutes. Whereas, Service Explicit SMS is used to send offers, discounts, or updates regarding products or services to existing customers.