Insight
10DLC for Political Campaigns
10-digit long code (10DLC) is the industry standard long code solution for North American application-to-person (A2P) business messaging. Essentially, 10DLC references a set of texting regulations adhered to and enforced by mobile carriers. Those who comply can expect enhanced deliverability, while non-adherence can lead to undeliverable messages and possibly even fines. For more on the general elements of 10DLC, you can dig deeper in our overview, here.
As political messaging has seen a huge rise in the last several years, carriers have doubled down on regulations in an effort to cut down on spam and keep recipients happy. With regard to political campaigns, 10DLC plays an integral part now more than ever.
10DLC Guidelines for Political Campaigns
While businesses must comply with 10DLC, other entities are not excepted, as non-profits, unions, and political campaigns must also register, with few exceptions—those who send fewer than 3,000 messages daily, those who utilize a toll-free number to facilitate sending political messages, or those who already use a short code.
Forecasts and Best Practices
The following checklist should prove very helpful for your political messagings campaigns. Of course, please reach out to your account team with any questions that should follow, and as always, adhere to the terms of your agreement, carrier guidelines and requirements, and best practices throughout the onboarding process.
| Political Campaign Requirements and Best Practices | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|
Register your traffic with The Campaign Registry (TCR) and follow appropriate steps to provision traffic on sanctioned routes. | Please consult our 10DLC Pricing and Policy Info document for more guidance on messaging throughput, Message Class, and more. | |
Vet messaging campaigns through Campaign Verify for higher messaging throughput. | Campaigns vetted by Campaign Verify (1) automatically qualify for higher messaging throughput; (2) do not require submission of a Messaging Volume request into T-Mobile; and (3) are given a special Messaging Class designation by AT&T. | |
Send Syniverse (DCA) your traffic forecasts if expecting net new customers or large campaigns. | Syniverse will collect forecast information and provide to the mobile operators on your behalf. If possible, please provide to Syniverse by COB August 1st or as soon as it is available. | |
Do not utilize Sole Proprietor campaign designations in TCR for political traffic. | Syniverse will decline Sole Proprietor Campaigns for political messaging traffic. Please consult TCR should you have registration questions. | |
Consider charges and timelines associated with Number Pool requirements for messaging campaigns (e.g., more than 49 volunteers sending messages) and submit all requests as soon as possible to your account professional. | T-Mobile charges $2,000 per Number Pool Campaign (passthrough fee) and that the work order typically takes 30 days or more. Syniverse provides professional services related to the submission of Number Pool requests. Current charges are $500 per Number Pool form (up to 10 campaigns can be requested in that form) in addition to any carrier pass-through fees. This requires a signed professional services agreement. | |
Complete campaign registration information as accurately as possible for additional review by Syniverse. Campaign registration requires the following information:
| To expedite a Syniverse review, send the campaign ID to: Syniverse requires professional services related to the review and approval of campaign registration requests. This requires a signed professional services agreement. Current charges are $15/review. Syniverse will provide the reason for the decline if applicable, so that the necessary corrections can be made before resubmission. Resubmitted campaigns will be subject to the $15/review charge. | |
Do not open support tickets if the messaging traffic is unregistered with TCR. | Unregistered traffic is subject to higher pricing, lower throughput, additional filtering, and deprioritized support. Check whether the traffic is correctly registered before opening a ticket. Please remind downstream customers to not escalate to mobile carriers as this will not help resolve their issue. Note: Syniverse is working with AT&T to increase MMS capacity for registered traffic. Please stay tuned for updates on 10DLC MMS throughput settings. |
This should serve as a solid foundation for adhering to 10DLC regulations for political campaigns.
Why Syniverse?
As the only provider with direct connectivity to the largest operators in North America and the global leader in mobile messaging services, we are able to offer benefits unlike any other.
- Faster time to market
- Faster message delivery, lower latency
- Reduced costs, as there are less players in the middle
- More control of messages
- Reduced risk and vulnerabilities