Getting Started with 10DLC Just Got Way Easier for Small Businesses

The story of ten-digit long codes (10DLC) has unfolded slowly over the past few years, and we’ve been bringing you the latest updates here on the Infobip blog.

Now there’s some good news for sole proprietors and small businesses looking to get started with 10DLC. It comes in the form of two new announcements from The Campaign Registry, which is the central hub where 10DLC campaign details are submitted.

The first update is the announcement of a new Sole Proprietor use case. It states that small businesses or sole proprietors with low-volume messaging needs can take advantage of a simpler verification process to get registered for 10DLC.

Remember that typically businesses would have to provide additional information such as EINs, tax IDs or other identifiers. (If you’ve got an EIN, this arrangement isn’t for you.)

If you qualify for the Sole Proprietor arrangement, you’ll need the following information to get set up:

You can run one campaign with up to five use cases (think 2FA, delivery notifications, customer care and marketing uses). And five numbers can be provisioned for your campaigns. You can’t run multiple Sole Proprietor accounts.

For SMS businesses and campaign service providers (CSPs) who take care of campaigns for their customer brands, they must make this relationship clear in the campaign reseller attribute. And they must follow the rules set out by The Campaign Registry and the mobile network operators. When we learn more about the specifics across the different operators, we’ll share any insights with you.

The second announcement from The Campaign Registry is a free trial for brands using the platform through a campaign service provider.

Specifically, it’s for non-paying, time-limited customers. From the brand’s point of view – the business benefiting from the free trial – you get the obvious benefits. (Who doesn’t love free stuff?)

From the point of view of the CSP – Infobip, for example, if you’re a customer of ours – it’s our responsibility to make sure the right people access the free trial, and that the rules are followed. For example, that only a single, 2FA-verified, opted-in number is used per free trial, and that messages are capped at the appropriate volume. And of course that no one abuses the system for spam or phishing purposes.

The great thing about a free trial like this is that, whether you’re a brand, a developer or a reseller of messaging services, you can use it to do some low-risk testing.

You could run a proof of concept or experiment with an early 10DLC campaign without needing a commercial commitment. It’s an opportunity worth exploring – especially now that you can’t use person-to-person messaging for business purposes anymore.

In summary, this second announcement is all about:

So there you go – two new developments that make it easier for small businesses to take advantage of 10DLC messaging.

If you’re looking for advice on how to make 10DLC work for your business, drop us a line.