TIPS Looking for affordable SMS DIDs in multiple countries for reselling.

[herbst]

I am pretty new to all this and have a hard time deciding which services are the right ones to further look into.

I am building a SaaS product for which as small addition to my service, i want to allow users to purchase virtual phone numbers (on demand) only to receive SMS without overcomplicating things, so only offer numbers that widely work and require no verification instead of offering many different countries and states.

Essentially i am looking for a Service with:

• receive SMS for free (as that is all i really need)
• pretty functional API (i guess most do have that)
• At least a few different countries to choose SMS enabled numbers from
• No complicated sign up (i am just an individual, and can't guarantee a minimal volume)
• Supporting most (if not all) short code SMS
• the more affordable the better, but without loosing short code functionality

An addon question i have is how it would be billed if these numbers receive calls? I've noticed that i have to point my telephone to somewhere with most services. If i just point them to something non existent will i still be charged if someone decides to call? (ex. with Multitel) Are there Providers (or specific setups maybe?) that make a number SMS only?

Inb4 Thanks!

 

[Halea]

Welcome to the forum @herbst .
I doubt that you'll find any SMS providers offering free texting inbound or outbound. Voip SMS is a very hot topic right now and all providers are trying to make some incremental revenue thanks to it. (Plus the actual wireless companies running the sms interchanges are all collecting their cut on every message)
As for good providers; I know that BulkVS is doing a good job with short codes and its pricing is among the lowest. Unfortunately the DIDs offered are for North America only.
But based on your API requirements I'll still suggest that you look at platforms like Twilio and SignalWire. Vonage/Nexmo is another source for SMS enabled DIDs and they offer international numbers. They are actually based in EU.
All these providers are quite low budget and they don't ask for much monetary commitment to start with.
To answer the last part of your question, with most providers you'll be charged as soon as a message shows up on their radar with your DID number attached to it, incoming or outgoing. It won't matter that it's properly delivered or not or whether it's received or not to the intended target account.

 

[herbertshades]

I am pretty new to all this and have a hard time deciding which services are the right ones to further look into.

I am building a SaaS product for which as small addition to my service, i want to allow users to purchase virtual phone numbers (on demand) only to receive SMS without overcomplicating things, so only offer numbers that widely work and require no verification instead of offering many different countries and states.

Essentially i am looking for a Service with:

• receive SMS for free (as that is all i really need)
• pretty functional API (i guess most do have that)
• At least a few different countries to choose SMS enabled numbers from
• No complicated sign up (i am just an individual, and can't guarantee a minimal volume)
• Supporting most (if not all) short code SMS
• the more affordable the better, but without loosing short code functionality

An addon question i have is how it would be billed if these numbers receive calls? I've noticed that i have to point my telephone to somewhere with most services. If i just point them to something non existent will i still be charged if someone decides to call? (ex. with Multitel) Are there Providers (or specific setups maybe?) that make a number SMS only?

Inb4 Thanks!

All services providers will charge for messages. So you can't escape that. For calls, just point the number to a sip server that returns SIP 404 Not Found. That should kill the calls and no charge.

Try Twilio, Telnyx, Avoxi, Callcentrix.

 

[herbst]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer.

Crazy to think that i have no control about getting call bombed one day. And i cant really offset these costs to my users either "number is $1, you may pay $100 tho if someone call bombs you" lol. Guess the solution is to add a high enough margin and hope for the best.

Thanks for the suggestions! BulkVS only offers US numbers as you said, paying for incoming SMS like Twilio or also BulkVS is to unpredictable for me right now. But SignalWire looks like a winner, even accepted most short code SMS i've tried so far, no idea why i haven't found them earlier. But only US numbers too? Vonage has no actual Sign up, i figured they don't care about potentially small fish as me, but i may take a look too.

Really thanks for the input!

 

[herbst]

All services providers will charge for messages. So you can't escape that. For calls, just point the number to a sip server that returns SIP 404 Not Found. That should kill the calls and no charge.

Try Twilio, Telnyx, Avoxi, Callcentrix.

Incoming messages? Note i do not intend to send any SMS, and DIDX as well as Signal wire seem to have free incoming SMS for example.

Kudos for the 404 trick! That sounds like it should be working

 

[Halea]

For Vonage you need to register on Nexmo, which was acquired but kept its own EU infrastructure. Then you use https://dashboard.nexmo.com/sign-in to sign in.
Pointing the DID to an invalid server page won't do a thing, you're still going to be charged for the incoming sms, at least based on my experience with 2 different providers.
That said with providers like BulkVS the cost per message is like a fraction of a penny and if you get overwhelmed with spam you can always turn off sms traffic on that DID to avoid charges.

 

[herbst]

@Halea Thanks again! You are likely right about the price. But SMS is just a small part of my actual service, i don't want to put to much risk in that specific feature while starting out.

Edit:// Nexmo does actually look great! Now i am curious to test their numbers

 

[KNERD]

Only business that I know of which offers free SMS is Google Voice.

 

[herbst]

free INCOMING sms

 

[KNERD]

Yeah, it's FREE incoming, and OUTGOING

 

[wardmundy]

Actually TextFree also offers free texting and free DIDs on iPhones and Android devices.

 

[Samot]

I think you need to look into 10DLC and how it is changing messaging (SMS/MMS) in the US, since you mentioned states. Everything you have described falls under Application-2-Person and all A2P providers/platforms (yes you would be one) need to be registered with the Campaign Registry along with registering Brands (companies doing the messaging) and Campaign types (types of messaging, including conversational and notifications).

Providers may or may not offer a service to do this on your behalf but you still need to submit details. There is a registration fee of $200 (if you do it yourself) and MRCs based on brands/campaigns.

Not being in the registry means that ATT, T-Mobile/Sprint, USCelluar and about 4 others will reject your messages. This is coming soon. Deadlines have been extended already.

 

[kenn10]

Not being in the registry means that ATT, T-Mobile/Sprint, USCelluar and about 4 others will reject your messages. This is coming soon. Deadlines have been extended already.

I would hope so. We get enough spam text messages as it is. Now if they could just regulate spam email...

 

[Samot]

I would hope so. We get enough spam text messages as it is. Now if they could just regulate spam email...

Just keep in mind that all messaging through places like BulkVS, etc is A2P as well. This is basically treating non-mobile DIDs/messaging as A2P. You need to file for exemptions to be residential/user.

Like Karis Law, this is more admin/business level vs service provider level.

 

[herbst]

I think you need to look into 10DLC and how it is changing messaging (SMS/MMS) in the US, .... Not being in the registry means that ATT, T-Mobile/Sprint, USCelluar and about 4 others will reject your messages. This is coming soon. Deadlines have been extended already.

Do i understand this right that this only applies to US numbers and/or US customers? I am just trying to read into it, but its a little confusing how that exactly changes anything for me.

Twilio says (https://support.twilio.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260800720410-What-is-A2P-10DLC-):
If you do not send messages to users in the United States using long code numbers, you do not need to do anything. If you are a business sending messages in the US, read on.

As said i do not plan to send any SMS. just receive them on behalf of my customers.

My customers should not care about in which country they have their number, the only reason i want to offer multiple countries is basically because it looks better for the customer. As long as it receives most of the SMS. Hence the whole reason i am adding phone to my project is a personal need. As both my private phone numbers don't receive any SMS from Twitter, Facebook & co at all. Its like this shit got so complicated not even the most normal approach (having an actual sim with a phone number in a mobile phone) is working anymore.

Edit:// Also big thanks for the ongoing tips and hints!