Sending SMS in India
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has mandated all entities that want to send SMS to register their organizations, headers, and templates along with required consent information, on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms to curb unsolicited commercial communication (UCC).
Register on any of the DLT platforms below by filling in the required information to get a temporary ID. After verification of your documents, the operator will provide you with a unique Entity ID. There is an annual cost of approximately Rs. 6000 per year to keep your DLT registration active.
Jio (https://trueconnect.jio.com/#/)
Videocon (https://smartping.live/entity/register-with)
Vodafone Idea Limited (https://www.vilpower.in)
Airtel (https://dltconnect.airtel.in/signup/)
In our experience, Jio seems to be the fastest among the operators. You have to register as a Primary Entity (PE) and this help doc - https://trueconnect.jio.com/assets/Trai_module/SampleFileDownloads/Entity_Registration_and_Login_(PE_and_TM_).pdf explains the process.
The valid KYC documents that can be uploaded are:
TAN
Trade License
Shops & Establishment Registration Certificate
GST Registration
Certificate of Incorporation/Registration
You will also need a DLT authorization letter on your company letter head. You can use this sample document here
It usually takes 3-5 days for PE registration.
Once you get your unique Entity ID, register your headers in the DLT platforms. Header is your sender id. The messages are delivered from a short code instead of an acutal phone number.
To add headers
After the registration is complete, you can add your headers (sender ID). This is the name your users will see when SMS is delivered to them e.g. AD-SPGN
There are two types of Headers to choose from — Promotional and Others. You should select Promotional.
For sending promotional campaigns, such as offers, discounts, and promotions, you need to choose a 6-digit numeric sender ID, which will be prefixed with your industry
For sending transactional campaigns, such as updates and notifications, you can choose your preferred header name. Add your preferred header name in the text box and state the reason for choosing it in the description box below.
Your header name should match your entity name. If the header name is different, please justify the discrepancy and include your mobile number in the description box. The mobile number will help the DLT support team to contact you in case they have questions.
Once you have registered your headers (sender IDs), the next step is to add consent templates. A consent template is a standard message that's sent to users to get their consent to receive communications from enterprises.
You can register for your promotional or transactional templates on Jio. It usually takes 1-2 days for approval. Always add your brand information and dont use more than two variables in a template. Once your template is approved, contact us at support@shopagain.io to finish the mapping on our end. Once this is done, you can start sending messages in India.
Steps to register your company with a telecom operator
Register on any of the DLT platforms below by filling in the required information to get a temporary ID. After verification of your documents, the operator will provide you with a unique Entity ID. There is an annual cost of approximately Rs. 6000 per year to keep your DLT registration active.
Jio (https://trueconnect.jio.com/#/)
Videocon (https://smartping.live/entity/register-with)
Vodafone Idea Limited (https://www.vilpower.in)
Airtel (https://dltconnect.airtel.in/signup/)
In our experience, Jio seems to be the fastest among the operators. You have to register as a Primary Entity (PE) and this help doc - https://trueconnect.jio.com/assets/Trai_module/SampleFileDownloads/Entity_Registration_and_Login_(PE_and_TM_).pdf explains the process.
The valid KYC documents that can be uploaded are:
TAN
Trade License
Shops & Establishment Registration Certificate
GST Registration
Certificate of Incorporation/Registration
You will also need a DLT authorization letter on your company letter head. You can use this sample document here
It usually takes 3-5 days for PE registration.
Register for header
Once you get your unique Entity ID, register your headers in the DLT platforms. Header is your sender id. The messages are delivered from a short code instead of an acutal phone number.
To add headers
After the registration is complete, you can add your headers (sender ID). This is the name your users will see when SMS is delivered to them e.g. AD-SPGN
There are two types of Headers to choose from — Promotional and Others. You should select Promotional.
For sending promotional campaigns, such as offers, discounts, and promotions, you need to choose a 6-digit numeric sender ID, which will be prefixed with your industry
For sending transactional campaigns, such as updates and notifications, you can choose your preferred header name. Add your preferred header name in the text box and state the reason for choosing it in the description box below.
Your header name should match your entity name. If the header name is different, please justify the discrepancy and include your mobile number in the description box. The mobile number will help the DLT support team to contact you in case they have questions.
Register consent templates
Once you have registered your headers (sender IDs), the next step is to add consent templates. A consent template is a standard message that's sent to users to get their consent to receive communications from enterprises.
Register your templates
You can register for your promotional or transactional templates on Jio. It usually takes 1-2 days for approval. Always add your brand information and dont use more than two variables in a template. Once your template is approved, contact us at support@shopagain.io to finish the mapping on our end. Once this is done, you can start sending messages in India.
Updated on: 13/04/2023
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