A2P 10DLC: What are the changes? How might you be affected?

Last updated November 10, 2021

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Table of contents

DEFINITIONS

• Find explanations of topic-related acronyms

Latest happenings

• Additional pass through costs

Information from September 30

• Decision time & registration
• Definitions of each option
• Pricing and Throughput of each option
• To recap the decision process via examples
• Information you need to collect for registration

 

Information from early September

• • • Where we were (brief overview)
    • Summary
    • Pricing changes
    • Another layer: Use case
    • FAQs

Definitions

A2P 10DLC: Application to Person (A2P) 10-digit long code (10DLC) — In other words, an application is sending a text to a person (A2P) via a regular phone number (10DLC). For example the local, 10-digit number on your account or the PastorsLine shared, high throughput, toll-free number.

MMS: a picture or multimedia text message

MPS: message segments per second — In other words, the message sent rate (how many messages are being sent every second).

SMS: a text message

 

Latest happenings…

Additional pass through costs

As we spoke earlier (Pricing changes), everyone pays an increased price per text message when sending texts via the US or Canadian mobile carriers.

We have just been informed that our provider will add the following new pass-through fees:

• for Toll-Free messages to or from U.S. Cellular, effective November 1, 2021.
• carrier fees levied by certain smaller carriers in Canada, effective November 18, 2021.
• carrier fees levied by certain smaller carriers in the United States, effective November 18, 2021.
  

We will pass through these fees to you.

As of November 7, 2021, this is the situation:

Your current monthly rate will not go up, but your per text rate will increase when texting US or Canadian phones. The rate per text to US or Canadian phones would increase by 0.25 credits per SMS text or 0.5 credits per MMS text. So, sending 1 text to 1 person who has a US or Canadian phone would now cost 1.25 credits instead of 1 credit.

Again, we want to make it clear that these are just “pass through” costs, i.e., costs due to the new A2P 10DLC system. This is not additional revenue for PastorsLine. This solution will allow you to pay for the carrier fees within the same budget: same plan cost, higher per message credit cost. See more here: Pricing changes.

 

Information from late September: Decision time & Registration

The goal of this update is to help you decide which of the 3 registration options best fits your needs (Starter, Special Use Case [Non-profit 501(c)(3)] or Standard) and based on that decision, what registration information you need to collect.

 

Let’s begin…

DEFINITIONS OF EACH OPTION

Special Use Case [Non-profit 501(c)(3)] Option

If your church is already registered as this type of organization (like with the IRS), this could be an option for you. Check out the Example Situations below to find out more.

Standard Option

Does your church send more than 3000 text messages on any given day (more than 1000 via T-Mobile)? Does your church use more than 5 long codes (more than 5, 10-digit numbers) when texting? If the answer to EITHER of these questions is “Yes”, then we would need to register you with the STANDARD OPTION.

Starter Option

If your church does not fit either the Special Use Case [Non-profit 501(c)(3)] Option or the Standard Option, this could be an option for you. Check out the Example Situations below to find out more.

 

PRICING and THROUGHPUT OF EACH OPTION

At the moment, this is what the pricing and throughput look like for each of the 3 options.

NOTE: It looks like T-Mobile/Sprint will also require a one-time, campaign activation fee of $50.

***As of October 3, 2021, T-Mobile/Sprint put this on hold until further notice.***

 

(i) MPS = messages per second

(ii) Trust Score = The value assigned to your church by The Campaign Registry (TCR) based on the information you provide. The higher the trust score, the higher your throughput.

REMINDER

In addition to the above, everyone pays an increased price per text message when sending texts via the US mobile carriers.

PastorsLine will pass the per text fees over to you (the fees we have covered since July 1st). For example: If you are paying $10/m for 300 text messages, then you would still continue paying $10/m, but your total text allowance will actually be less than 300 texts. This is because each U.S. SMS will cost 1.25 credits instead of the current 1 credit. MMS messages to the U.S. will cost 2.5 credits instead of the current 2 credits.

Again, we want to make it clear that these are just “pass through” costs, i.e., costs due to the new A2P 10DLC system. This is not additional revenue for PastorsLine. This solution will allow you to pay for the carrier fees within the same budget.

We were going to begin passing on these fees on September 20 but have delayed it for the moment. However, this can start at any time as you are already benefiting from the improved A2P 10DLC messaging system.

 

To recap the decision process via examples

Example situation #1

You are registered as a Non-profit 501(c)(3). You DO NOT send more than 3000 text messages on any given day (more than 1000 via T-Mobile). You DO NOT  use more than 5 long codes (more than 5, 10-digit numbers) when texting.

You have a choice. You can either ask us to register you with the Starter Option (you only pay the “per text pass-on fees” but your messages have lower throughput) or ask us to register you with the Special Use Case Option (you pay a one-time registration fee & monthly registration fee in addition to the “per text pass-on fees” but your messages have faster throughput).

Example situation #2

You are registered as a Non-profit 501(c)(3). You DO send more than 3000 text messages on any given day (more than 1000 via T-Mobile). You DO use more than 5 long codes (more than 5, 10-digit numbers) when texting.

You do not have a choice. We will need to register you with the Special Use Case [Non-profit 501(c)(3)] Option. If we do not, and either your messages or phone numbers exceed the limits, the carriers will not let your messages go through.

You will pay a one-time registration fee & monthly registration fee in addition to the “per text pass-on fees”.

Example situation #3

You are not registered as a Non-profit 501(c)(3). You DO NOT send more than 3000 text messages on any given day (more than 1000 via T-Mobile). You DO NOT use more than 5 long codes (more than 5, 10-digit numbers) when texting.

You have a choice. You can either ask us to register you with the Starter Option (you only pay the “per text pass-on fees” but your messages have lower throughput) or ask us to register you with the Standard Option (you pay a one-time registration fee & monthly registration fee in addition to the “per text pass-on fees” but your messages have faster throughput).

Example situation #4

You are not registered as a Non-profit 501(c)(3). You DO send more than 3000 text messages on any given day (more than 1000 via T-Mobile). You DO use more than 5 long codes (more than 5, 10-digit numbers) when texting.

You do not have a choice. We will need to register you with the Standard Option. If we do not, and either your messages or phone numbers exceed the limits, the carriers will not let your messages go through.

You will pay a one-time registration fee & monthly registration fee in addition to the “per text pass-on fees”.

 

INFORMATION YOU NEED TO COLLECT FOR REGISTRATION

After you decide on your registration option, start collecting your registration information as per the following table.

Starter	Special Use Case: Non-profit 501(c)(3)	Standard
First and last name	First and last name
Email	Email
Phone number	Phone number
Billing address	Billing address
2 sample messages (up to 1024 characters long)	Business name
	Business type: Non-profit, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, Co-operative, LLC Company status: Public, Private Business Registration Number/Tax EIN Note that for non-profits, your EIN has to match the Legal Company Name available in the list of Tax-Exempt Organizations. Industry: Religion, Not for profit,  Automotive, Agriculture, Banking, Consumer, Education, Electronics, Engineering, Energy, Oil_and_gas, Fast_moving_consumer_goods, Financial, Fintech, Food_and_beverage, Government, Healthcare, Hospitality, Insurance, Jewelry, Legal, Manufacturing, Media, Online, Raw_materials, Real_estate, Retail, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation, Travel,  Website URL Region of operations: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, USA and Canada Authorized point of contact: Name, Email, Title, Phone number, Job Position 2 sample messages (up to 1024 characters long)

 

Where we were

We wrote to you in April about how the US carriers are making changes that will allow you more flexibility and less filtering when sending bulk text messages when using local, U.S., 10-digit numbers (10DLC). The text/SMS traffic would now be routed through a new system (Application to Person Messaging or A2P). Most U.S. carriers are endorsing this system. Simply put, you can use applications like PastorsLine to send bulk messages to your people through an approved A2P route and expect faster deliverability  and reduced messaging filtering when using local numbers.

Put together, that’s A2P 10DLC.

In order to cover the operating costs of their new program, the US carriers are charging both a one-time fee to register the type of traffic you are sending (called your “campaign”), and a monthly fee to maintain that option. Additionally, since JULY 1st, all carriers have been charging a per text addition fee for all traffic.

 

Summary

Simply put…

1. There are several registration fees: a new client / new use case / campaign.
2. Your campaign type could have a monthly recurring fee. This depends on your daily sent text limit (less than 3000 texts per day or more than 3000 texts per day).
3. There is a per text carrier fee. We will start passing through those fees to you starting on September 20th. Just to be clear…the A2P 10DLC program will be rolled out in phases over the coming weeks. However, the carriers are already charging us.

Many churches may not be affected by #1 and #2. 

All churches will be affected by #3. 

 

Pricing changes

As discussed in April, PastorsLine was temporarily covering these costs as we navigated through the emerging situation and its changes. All our traffic (your texts) are being moved over to A2P now, and you should begin experiencing the benefits of this new A2P traffic route.

As a result…

• Starting September 20th, we are going to pass the per text fees over to you (the fees we have covered since July 1st). For example: If you are paying $10/m for 300 text messages, then you would still continue paying $10/m, but your total text allowance will actually be less than 300 texts. This is because each U.S. SMS will cost 1.25 credits instead of the current 1 credit. MMS messages to the U.S. will cost 2.5 credits instead of the current 2 credits. Again, we want to make it clear that these are just “pass through” costs, i.e., costs due to the new A2P 10DLC system. They are not additional revenue for PastorsLine. This solution will allow you to pay for the carrier fees within the same budget.
• Starting sometime in September/October, new clients may be charged an additional registration fee & monthly fee based on your usage as described below.

 

Registration options

All our PastorsLine partners need to register for this new system. There are two options: starter and standard. Which one applies to you depends on how many texts your church sends every day AND/OR how many phone lines you use when texting. Let’s try to explain this simply.

A2P: Usage less than 3000 messages sent per day and/or fewer than 6 phone lines

If you are a church which ALWAYS sends less than 3000 texts per day (including less than 1000 to T-Mobile) and ALWAYS uses fewer than 6 phone lines to send text, you are in the STARTER category. As a result…

• There is no one-time registration fee.
• There is no current monthly campaign fee ($4 – $10 / campaign).
• However, you pay an additional carrier fee per text per carrier.

Information required

We would require registration details such as name, address, and phone number.

 

A2P: Usage 3000 messages or more sent per day and/or 6 or more phone lines

If you are a church which could send 3000 texts or more per day (including more than 1000 to T-Mobile) and could use 6 or more phone lines to send tests, you are in the STANDARD category. As a result…

• You will need to pay a one-time registration fee.
• There is a monthly campaign registration fee ($4 – $10 / campaign).
• There is an additional carrier fee per text per carrier.

Information required

Registration details are more involved. In addition to basics such as e.g. name, address, and phone, we will also need things such as Tax ID/EIN, contact information, etc.

We are currently working on making the registration process for both options as easy as possible for you. We will keep you updated.

Overall…

Most churches will be under the 3000 (1000 for T-Mobile) daily texting limit. As stated, starting September 20th, we are going to pass the per text fees over to you (the fees we have covered since July 1st). For example: If you are paying $10/m for 300 text messages, then you would still continue paying $10/m, but your total text allowance will be less than 300 texts. We are building the passed on fees from the mobile carriers into the PastorsLine price per U.S. SMS [1.25 credits instead of 1 credit] and U.S. MMS (2.5 credits instead of 2 credits]. This solution will allow you to pay for the carrier fees within the same budget.

Starting sometime in September/October, new clients may be charged an additional registration fee/monthly fee based on your usage as described below.

For now, please just be aware of the fees changes as a result of this A2P changeover.

 

Another layer: Use case

Part of the registration process for both starter and standard brands is “use case”. Basically, use case defines the purpose of your text messages. Examples include customer care, higher education, and marketing.

There are special use cases too. One is 501(c)(3) non-profit. This use case may have different messaging throughput and lower fees. For example, at the moment, it appears that the extra costs per carrier will be none for AT&T. Also, that the limits in terms of speed, etc. can be redone and added.

If your church is registered as this type of non-profit, we suggest making sure that your paperwork is updated and in order. You will need it during registration.

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FAQs

Answer: T-Mobile onboarding has been paused by Twilio for now. We are monitoring the situation with our contact. There is a program for low-volume accounts to avoid these fees. (See main article above for more information.)

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Q3: If we begin using our 10DLC, will your system process the number of outgoing messages each minute? For example: If we send 100 SMS in a blast from our 10DLC, will your system hold each remaining and the last message be sent 100 minutes from the time we hit send?

Answer: It depends on the trust score of your organization once we get the registration going. Initially, it would fall under our PastorsLine account.

The new sending rates vary per carrier and per your trust score. You can anticipate sending rates between 10 – 60 messages per second or 600 – 3600 messages per minute based on the information we have now.

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Q4: We are confused about the number “18334442101”. Is this unique to us? Can we use keywords with this number? What does verified mean?

Answer: No, it is not unique. This is the new, PastorsLine, high throughput, shared, verified toll-free number (like our shortcode 77411 is shared).

About keywords…No, not yet. Only your regular local number(s) and our PastorsLine shortcode.

About verified…As part of the changes to make texting less spammy and more secure, the FCC now requires mobile carriers to rate the verification of text senders. Our PastorsLine verified toll-free number means your recipients know that the message sent can be trusted.

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Q5: Are we able to still use our other numbers as we have been doing, understanding that there could be carrier filtering?

Answer: As discussed in our main article, the changes impact all local numbers. The specific increase will be seen for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile/Sprint numbers. The advantage would be faster deliverable messages and no filtering. This is a win.

Eventually, your local number will give you the same power as the PastorsLine shared short code but it will be unique to you. In other words, once everything is set up and working smoothly, there should be little to no carrier filtering of your SMS and MMS to US phone numbers.

You will still be able to use our shared short code too if you wish.

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Q6: Just trying to figure out where we fit in and how it affects our everyday usage. We only use the short code when we have to (if I’m reading correctly, we can go back to using our 10 digit number) We NEVER send 3,000 texts in a day – want to make sure we don’t need to register for anything. If I’m understanding correctly, our $100/mo rate won’t go up, but our per text rate will go up so as long we don’t exceed our credits, we won’t see much of a change.

Answer: At the moment, since you do not send more than 3,000 texts per day (including less than 1000 to T-Mobile), you can continue to use both the PastorsLine short code and your local 10-digit number(s).

About registration…As far as we understand it, we need to register all our PastorsLine partners. So, we will be collecting some basic information from you soon. However, since you do not send more than 3,000 texts per day, there are currently no registration fees.

About pricing…Right. Your current monthly rate will not go up, but your per text rate will increase when texting US or Canadian phones. The rate per text to US or Canadian phones would increase by 0.25 credits per SMS text or 0.5 credits per MMS text. So, sending 1 text to 1 person who has a US or Canadian phone would now cost 1.25 credits instead of 1 credit.

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Q7: This is all very confusing. Do I need to pick a new plan as of yesterday?

Answer: We hear you! There are a lot of changes, and the changes sometimes change as the process moves forward. That’s why we are on top of the situation and welcome any and all questions you have.

Regarding your plan, no. There is no need to pick a new plan…unless you were thinking about it anyway. If you are happy with your plan, it will work as usual under this new texting system.

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Still need an answer? Use the chat on our website. Please include “A2P 10DLC” in your question to help our chatbot get you to the right answer. Don’t worry — if the chatbot can’t figure it out, a PastorsLine human will get back to you quickly.

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