IMPORTANT Announcement: SMS Sent from International Long Codes to the UK Will Be Blocked, Effective July 30, 2024
- UK carriers have implemented restrictions on messaging traffic originating from international long codes to UK phone numbers; they consider the use of international long codes for Application-To-Person (A2P) SMS as an abuse of Person-To-Person (P2P) routes.
- Due to these restrictions, in 2023, Carriers began blocking all SMS messaging traffic sent from international long codes to UK phone numbers on the BT and Sky Mobile networks.
- Starting July 30, 2024, all SMS messages sent to the UK via international long codes, regardless of carrier, will be blocked. Going forward, SMS messages sent to the UK must be sent via a domestic UK long code, an Alphanumeric Sender ID, or a short code.
- We plan to support Alphanumeric SenderID and Short-codes in the next 6/9 months.
What do you need to do?
By July 30, 2024, start using UK long code to replace your international long codes to send A2P messages to the UK:
- UK long code: This is a two-way messaging option using local, national, mobile, or toll-free UK numbers. UK long codes are ideal to replace international long codes.
- Provisioning time: 48 hours.
- Review Know Your Customer (KYC) in the UK for more information on KYC requirements.
KYC Requirements Brief
- Go to Location Settings -> Phone Numbers Tab
- Create a Regulatory Bundle / Address based on the number type you want to buy in the UK and submit it for approval.
- Once approved please proceed to buy a UK number.
What if you don’t take action?
If you don’t use an alternative to replace international long codes, all SMS messages sent to the UK from international long codes will be blocked starting July 30, 2024.
Note –
For existing contacts who are linked to the US number, make sure to create an agent, assign a UK number to him/her and post that assign all the UK customers to this user.