SMS Long Code Vs Short Code for Texting

The SMS Long Code has hit a level where its adoption rate is significant enough to get attention from Short Code providers.
When searching for information about the Long Code you may see plenty of “opinions” for and against its use from suppliers of both technologies.

 

As a veteran of 25 years in the telecommunications industry and having worked within both the radio and landline sides of the market, I will do my best to present the facts without bias and allow you the reader decide what you believe is right and what is ideal for your situation.

 

Short and Long Code Background

Short Code

The Short Code was created by the key cellular carriers, CTIA, Neustar and a couple of others in 2003 as a solution for carriers to handle the higher volume, more bursty A2P (Application to Individual) text messaging traffic. P2P (Person to Person) text messaging could be managed through standard 10 digit phone numbers. Find all about long coding (which is also known as ” 長いコーディング ” in Thai language )   through online websites.

 

 

 

 

 

The Short Code was created as a 5 or 6 digit number that is leased on a monthly basis for greater volume A2P traffic at a cost of $500 or $1000. Amounts deemed “common” are $500/month and vanity numbers are $1000/month.

 

After a Short Code is got the lessee then has to submit to the carriers a quite comprehensive plan outlining how the code will be used. This is normally done through a handful of aggregators that work with all the carriers. Apart from this,  get  more info about smartphone application via visitng online websites.

 

Neither the Short nor Long Code escape the transactional charges that are applied to each message sent and received. The transactional costs to the end user may range from $.02 to $.05 with the Long Code generally being less expensive than the Short Code.

 

Long Code

 

The Long Code is a 10 digit phone number that’s been allowed for text messaging. Until 2003, the Long Code was the only way text messaging was transmitted because the traffic was all P2P. There’s a lot of controversy over using the Long Code for A2P traffic in which I will discuss later.

 

For the time being, there are two flavors of the Long Code, and it’s important when reading articles to identify “bias” opinions. It would be equally horrible to commit your organization to a bad idea because it would to omit something which makes sense.

 

Reputable companies such as ILEC’s, CLEC’s, Virtual Telephone Service Providers, Cable Companies, ASP’s and others I may have missed, can use the Long Code for text messaging. I will label these firms as legitimate, reputable users or prospective users of the Long Code, but will again cover the controversy inside this later.

 

The next flavor of the Long Code will frequently be called Grey Route numbers. It is a loosely used term, rarely clarified and frequently used as propaganda to create confusion in the competitive Short Code/Long Code debate. It is most often associated with companies/people who are trying to get around ethical use of the Long Code.

 

 

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