Toll-Free number messaging restrictions

Unverified Toll-Free Number

When you sign up for TextIn or install TextIn from a partner platform, Colligso assigns a  text-enabled Toll-Free number (TFN) to your account. You can find that number by following the steps described in Where can I find my SMS number? This number is considered unverified.

An unverified Toll-Free number indeed allows your account to send and receive text messages, but only for low frequency campaigns such as mobile opt-in and order notifications. It is not suitable for campaigns where you would send a text (or picture) message to 100s of customers. Colligso strongly recommends switching to 10DLC for such use cases.

Unverified toll-free number is subject to message blocking based on limits as described below. 

Message Limits

Effective April 1 2023, all unverified Toll-Free numbers have been subject to message blocking.  

US 

Unverified Toll-Free numbers may route messaging traffic, but under volume threshold limits. An SMS text message may consist of one or more message segment. Each message segment is up to 160-characters without emoji. Message segments exceeding the following limits are blocked and not delivered, whichever comes sooner.

• Daily Limit: 500 message segments per day. A day resets at 12:00 AM Pacific.
• Weekly Limit: 1000 message segments per week. A week resets on Sunday at 12:00 AM Pacific.
• Monthly Limit: 2000 message segments per month. A month refers to a calendar month.

All messages, regardless of being successfully delivered or not, count toward the daily, weekly and monthly volume limits if they are processed through the network. If you send 25,000 message segments on the first day of the month, the first 500 are delivered, the remaining 24,500 will be blocked and you have met your monthly maximum. Message thresholds are subject to change. 

Canada

Only Verified Toll-Free numbers will be able to route messaging traffic to Canada.  

• If an unverified Toll-Free number sends a message to terminate on a Canadian carrier, it will be blocked. Please fill out Business Verification form to get the number verified. Ideally, switch to 10DLC (see below).

Feature Restrictions

• Picture messaging (MMS) is also not be available on a toll-free number (verified or unverified). 

Quota and overage applicable even for blocked or undelivered messages

If your messages are blocked or delivery fails due to the messaging restrictions described above, your quota from the plan would still be consumed and overage, if applicable, will still be applied.

Take Action

If your business is in the US and you do not expect that you would reach limits mentioned above, you may be ok provided you are using the text-based engagement to get customer opt-in or to notify them of orders, etc. If you want to blast text messages to all your customers or you are based in Canada, we strongly RECOMMEND taking either of the following actions.

Switch to 10DLC 

1. If you anticipate the message traffic (bulk message campaigns, mobile opt-in, order notification, etc.) that could easily breach daily, weekly or monthly message limits of the toll-free number, you should seriously consider switching to the 10DLC route. MNOs do have delivery limits for 10DLC too but those are much higher than those set by toll-free number aggregator(s).
2. If you want to use the picture messaging (MMS) feature, it is only available on a 10DLC number.
3. If you are in Canada and want to engage with customers using text (SMS/ MMS) messaging, you would need a 10DLC number.

⟩⟩⟩Switch to 10-digit local code (10DLC) sanctioned route.

Verify Business

Get your business verified for text messaging over toll-free number. This process is manual and takes weeks. We RECOMMEND switching to the 10DLC sanctioned route instead.

⟩⟩⟩Fill out Business Verification form to get the number verified.