System Issue: August 18, 2023
Subject: *IMPORTANT* Moving from 55678 to Dedicated Codes
(Please note this only impacts users on short code 55678)
As you may or may not already know, for the past few years, the mobile industry has been transitioning away from shared short codes to dedicated code solutions. A few years back, to better control the content on their networks and root out potential bad actors in the space, the wireless carriers indicated that they will no longer support shared short codes.
While we've been able to continue operations on our shared short codes during this time, this past Friday, T-Mobile took aggressive action and shut down traffic on short code 55678 with no advanced notice. As a result, messages sent to T-mobile handsets are currently failing.
Fortunately, our team has been preparing for this scenario for quite some time. We've spent the past 6 months registering dedicated Toll-Free numbers on behalf of every one of our clients in the event this would happen.
As such, if you currently have messaging running on 55678, we will be transitioning your traffic from 55678 to your NEW dedicated Toll-Free # ASAP to ensure continuity of your messaging to your subscribers.
There are multiple benefits to a dedicated number:
- There will be no other businesses operating on this number, it will be exclusive to you.
- If you use keywords in your text promotions, you will now be able to use ANY keyword you want without concern that it might be in use by another client.
- With a dedicated #, you have the option to enable a "catch all" message that will be sent to anyone that texts into your code.
Here's the process:
- First, our team will login to your account and update your mobile campaigns to reflect your NEW dedicated #.
- Either you, or someone from our support team, will schedule a text broadcast to your contacts informing them of the new # and advising them to save the new # in their phone. If you or someone on your team is going to schedule this message, it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT that you put your business name at the beginning of this message, so your customers don’t potentially flag the message as spam.
- We also advise sending out communications to your customers (via email/social/in-store signage) indicating to customers that your text code has changed.
Of course, in an ideal scenario, we would send one final message from 55678 to your subscribers informing them of the change. However, with messaging to T-Mobile handsets currently failing, we have no choice but to skip this step.
We understand the potential impact that this may have on your messaging initiatives. The goal is to minimize any confusion on behalf of your opted-in subscribers and we will work closely with you to ensure a smooth transition.
Should you have any questions/concerns about this process, please contact our support team via email or by phone at 866-655-5302 x 0.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to facilitate this transition.
iVision Mobile
-- UPDATE -- 8/29/2023 3:07 pm PT
*IMPORTANT* - 55678 Temporarily Reinstated by T-Mobile
We are happy to report that T-Mobile has temporarily reinstated short code 55678 for a period of 90 days. The goal is to allow you to better communicate with your opted-in contacts, reduce confusion, and create a more seamless transition to a dedicated messaging code.
If you are currently sending from 55678 your messaging will now work again on T-Mobile and Sprint handsets. However, we want to make sure you transition to a dedicated number before the imposed 90-day deadline.
There are multiple benefits to a dedicated number:
- There will be no other businesses operating on this number, it will be exclusive to you. This is now a requirement from the cell carriers.
- If you use keywords in your text promotions, you will now be able to use ANY keyword you want without concern that it might be in use by another client.
- With a dedicated #, you have the option to enable a "catch all" message that will be sent to anyone that texts into your code.
Here's the process:
- Our team will reach out to discuss the pros and cons of each option and which messaging code works best for your needs: 10-Digit Local Code, Toll-Free #, or dedicated short code.
- Our team will work with upstream providers to register your dedicated code and make sure it is verified by the deadline.
- We'll work with you to craft and schedule one message from 55678 informing your opted-in contacts that your messaging code is changing. We have some tips and tricks to ensure an optimal message.
- We'll then update your account to reflect the new messaging code.
- The final step will be to send a new message to your opted-in contacts from the new messaging code.
If we haven't yet spoken, expect to receive an email, phone call, or text from our team to jumpstart the conversation. You can always schedule a call with our support team by choosing a time on our calendar: https://urlme.us/C5I7I
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to facilitate this transition.
iVision Mobile