Invaluable SMS Trade Information

A Direct SMS route is established with an in-country operator, eliminating the need for multiple hops through middlemen, or other SMS gateways, to connect with a country's mobile subscribers. This route ensures high-quality messaging, characterized by a high level of reliability and fast delivery speeds. Typically, it provides control over the sender ID, offers multiple mobile status reports, supports 8bit (Unicode) messaging, and includes local time stamping. Here are the latest Direct SMS route prices. 

On the other hand, a Wholesale SMS route also delivers high-quality messaging, maintaining high levels of reliability and speed of delivery. This route generally offers multiple mobile status reports, supports 8bit (Unicode) messaging, and includes local time stamping as well. While it often has good capacity, it may involve multiple hops, and the reports available can vary due to different mobile network operators and SMS trade rules. Here are the latest Wholesale SMS prices as a sales guideline.

Every country in the world has a maximum and minimum mobile number length, which is essential for understanding international SMS prices. You can check your mobile number lengths using the world maps links: Maximum Mobile Number Length and Minimum Mobile Number Length. Each country also has a unique ISO code that serves as its identifier. Additionally, every country has a Country Code for voice telephony and Mobile Country Code, which is crucial for SMS telecoms. Within each country, the licensed mobile network operators are assigned individual Mobile Network Codes to help identify each operator, ensuring compliance with SMS trade rules.

SMS is regulated, and each country has its own SMS trade rules set by regulatory authorities that determine content restrictions, pre-registration requirements, and whether the country supports Sender ID. In the case of ATP SMS additional rules are in place for the sharing of personal information under GDPR. Here is a map of the countries where GDPR restricts ATP SMS content. 

Also note that time of day restrictions exist in many countries for the sending of ATP SMS too. Understanding these rules is essential for tailoring your SMS sales strategy, especially when considering international SMS prices. 

It is illegal to engage in contracts with certain countries due to trade sanctions. Refer to the latest UN Sanctions List for guidance. While it is legal to send SMS to these countries, it's crucial that your supplier is not registered in any jurisdiction on this list. Additionally, many countries impose bans on certain OTT services. Click on the OTT name to discover the country bans in place for each OTT, including SnapChat, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and WeChat. Utilize this information as a comprehensive SMS trade guide.

SMS features vary by market and play a crucial role in determining the type of SMS traffic that can be sent to a country. In the evolving SMS market, Two Way SMS has emerged as a new conversational and interactive business text messaging service. This innovative service allows businesses to both send and receive text messages, facilitating real-time communication and engagement with customers. However, it is important to note that this feature is not supported in the majority of countries. In many developed nations, both Short Codes and Long Codes are available, yet there are some surprising omissions, including Australia, Ireland, and Norway.

In competitive markets, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), a mobile standard for sending messages with multimedia content like images, videos, and audio clips is starting to be withdrawn owing to RCS take up whilst Mobile Number Portability (MNP) has resulted in many mobile numbers being ported from one mobile operator to another, making it essential for SMS traders to verify how this may impact the costs of their SMS traffic. Additionally, Dynamic Message Encoding (DME), is a useful service where a SMS message's encoding scheme changes in real-time based on specific factors to improve efficiency, security, or personalization to determine the character set used for a SMS message based on its content. This process affects the number of characters per segment and the overall cost of sending messages. The transactional and ID SMS processes heavily rely on Two Stage Verification, which is supported in nearly every country across the globe.                                                   

The large mobile network operators are present in many countries, playing a crucial role in shaping international SMS prices. Below are the main operators active in the international SMS trade, along with links to their key countries of operation. This information will assist you in navigating SMS trade rules and developing effective SMS trade deals.

Airtel is an Indian company with operations in Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. Beeline has a presence in many former CIS states. Claro is a significant operator in South America. Digicel operates globally, with a strong presence in Central America. Etisalat, the UAE state-owned telecoms company, has expanded its reach internationally. The South African operator MTN has an extensive presence in Africa. Orange, owned by France Telecom and headquartered in Paris, operates extensively across Europe and Africa. Telefonica, the Spanish operator, serves both Europe and South America under the brands of Telefonica, Movistar, O2, and Vivo. Telenor is the Norwegian operator with international operations in Scandinavia and Europe. Three (3), the brand of Hutchison 3G, has extensive operations in Europe and Asia. Tigo, operated by Millicom, has active operations throughout South America. T-Mobile, the German operator, boasts a significant presence across European Union countries. Vodafone, based in the UK, has widespread operations in both Europe and Africa. Zain is a Qatar-based operator focused on the Middle East and Africa.