Tips and restrictions on sending SMS and SmartSMS

Delivering your SMS or SmartSMS messages may depend on the destination country.

In this article, you'll find some tips for your messages and a few things to keep in mind to avoid any unpleasant surprises,

Recommendations

• To add an unsubscribe link to your message, just use our !remove merge code. 
  The !remove code will be replaced by a 35-char unsubscribe link. Contacts who tap it will instantly stop getting any messages from you (SMS, emails, etc.).
   
• If you're whipping up a SmartSMS, you can place webpage link anywhere in your text by using the !link merge code.
  Example: "Sign up now at: !link - Never miss a travel update again."
   
• Merge codes may cause your live message to exceed the character limit. Why and how to prevent it?
   
• If you add a link to your message, the link may not always show a preview when people open the message. Why and how to prevent it?

Restrictions

Certain topics apply everywhere, while others are specific to each country, as you can see below.

No matter what, whenever you can, give it a try and send a test to the carriers that will get the message.

Character and message size:

• Sticking with standard GSM encoding for your content will ensure it's properly rendered by virtually any country in the world. These chars are usually bullet-proof:
   

  ! " # $ % ' ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ _ ¡ £ ¥ ¿ & ¤ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Ä Å Æ Ç É Ñ Ø ø Ü ß Ö à ä å æ è é ì ñ ò ö ù ü

   
• If you need to use special symbols or non-English chars, you can toggle GSM Extended (which includes the euro sign) or Unicode (which displays chars from any language, including Chinese, Arabian or even emojis, at a cost of about half the message length) while creating your message in E-goi.
  Keep in mind GSM Extended and Unicode chars may not be supported by all network operators.
  Example: chars such as "@" and "€" or specific emojis might not be rendered in some countries, even if you use Unicode.
  However, for Dominican Republic, it's only possible to send Unicode-based messages.
   
• Some CDMA-based mobile operators in the US and other parts of the world may cut your SMS off after 138 chars. Why? 
   
• In Brazil:
  • If your message is a three-part SMS, for example, some carriers don't assure that more than the content of one-part will be delivered. Therefore, it might get cut off on the recipients' devices.
  • For the Oi carrier specifically, you can only send up to 153 characters.
  • When choosing Unicode encoding, successful delivery across all carriers isn't guaranteed.
    
     

Senders:

• If a contact is abroad while receiving your message, the message sender may be different than the one you choose at the time of sending (depends on how each country handles promo texts).
  Example: say your sender is MyBrand; in some countries a number may be displayed instead of "MyBrand".
   
• The use of spacing or hyphens isn't supported, so to make sure your messages are protected, E-goi doesn't accept these elements when you're setting up a sender name.
   
• You're welcome to use letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9) when creating the sender name. If you go for lowercase letters (a-z), keep in mind that some carriers might convert them to uppercase.
   
• In Brazil:
  • Due to ANATEL requirements, the number 28908 or a local number will appear to ensure delivery, but your brand name will show up at the beginning of the message.
  • Generic senders like "SMS," "INFO," or "Alert" aren't allowed.
  • If your sender name is alphanumeric, you can only send content equivalent to one-part SMS to your contacts. If your message is longer, it'll be cut off for the recipients. Use the "Fit into how many SMS?" option to set your message to occupy just one-part.
     
• In Colombia:
  • The sender is changed to the number 85307 or 87457, and occasionally to a local number, to ensure delivery.
     
• In the United Kingdom:
  • You're allowed to use letters (A-Z) (a-z) and numbers (0-9) when creating the sender name. However, in the future, some senders will need to be registered in the Global Sender ID Portal. Furthermore, senders listed in the SMS SenderID Protection Registry - MEF will require validation before they can be used.
     
  • Other changes are planned in phases:
    • Phase 1 (starting from 5th September 2023):
      • Sending messages with international numeric senders (i.e., different from "+44xxx") will be blocked by the carriers.
      • The use of short codes numeric senders will be permitted only if they have 5 digits starting with 6/7/8.
      • Generic senders like "SMS," "INFO," or "Alert" are not allowed.
    • Phase 2 (date to be announced):
      • The following verticals must be registered with us to ensure only valid sends passes: banking/finance/fintech, government, healthcare, delivery and logistics, mobile network operator/handset OEMS/OTT’s.
         
• In the US:
  • Find the restrictions here.

Content:

• In some countries (eg. Brazil, Colombia and the United Kingdom), sending content of adult, political, religious, alcohol-related or gambling nature, as well as unsolicited content about promotions, is not allowed.
   
• In Colombia:
  • If the content is promotional or marketing-related, the carrier will add its name at the beginning or a URL at the end of the SMS. This measure was implemented by the CRC (Comisión Reguladora de Comunicaciones) to distinguish between transactional and promotional messages, aiming to prevent fraud and phishing.
     
• In the United Kingdom:

  • To prevent smishing attacks, URLs are filtered and verified by the carriers.

     

Sending times:

• In Colombia:
  • Sending commercial messages is only allowed between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM (local time).
     
• In France:
  • Network operators will only accept sales messages from 8:00 to 20:00 (local time) Monday to Saturday. Your text should include "STOP au 36179" right at the end, so people can unsubscribe.

Message delivery:

• Some countries (eg. Colombia) don't support SMS delivery reports, which can impact your reporting in E-goi. Why?
   
• In the United Kingdom:
  • Sending to the following is restricted:
    • Premium numbers: 449, 4455, 4470, 4482, 4484, 4487, 4489, 448089.
    • Toll free numbers: 4450, 4480.