Acquiring a phone number is essential in sending SMS from D365 Marketing. Three D365 Real-Time marketing SMS phone number types are available for us to use.
We discussed adding a phone number in Dynamics 365 Real-Time Marketing in a previous post. In the Dynamics 365 Marketing SMS Providers post, we covered how to add a phone number and the supported types.
D365 Real-Time marketing SMS phone number types
- Geo (10DLC, Long code)
- Shortcode
- Toll-Free
Both TeleSign and Twilio offer all the SMS phone number types supported with D365.
This post will discuss the difference between each type and help the clients decide which type is best for their needs.
SMS Provider SMS phone number types comparisons
To find more information about the different SMS phone number comparisons for TeleSign and Twilio, check the following links.
| TeleSign | Toll-Free Number Registration |
| Twilio | Comparison of SMS messaging in the US and Canada phone numbers |
Differences between SMS phone number types
There are several differences between the different SMS phone number types. However, when helping out clients decide the best option for them, we need to consider the following criteria.
Cost
Generally, all SMS phone numbers offered by TeleSign and Twilio might have setup fees and monthly running costs. Geo and Toll-Free numbers are reasonable compared to the shortcodes.
Voice support
Geo and Toll-Free support voice while shortcodes don’t. If the objective is to send SMSs, I don’t think this feature will be relevant. Many organisations have different numbers for different services; thus, I don’t believe shortcodes not supporting voice are an issue.
Throughput
This is an important one, especially with high volume marketing messages. Throughput is the number of text messages the phone supports sending in one second. Generally, shortcodes have the highest throughputs, as shown in the chart below.
| Geo (10DLC) | Toll-free | Shortcodes |
| 1 SMS per second | 3 SMS per second | 100 SMS per second |
When sending a marketing email, we need to ensure that we don’t send messages at night and disturb our valuable audience and clients. This is why the high throughput helps execute the SMS campaign quickly and avoid such situations.
It is essential to know that we can discuss increasing the throughput with the SMS provider for additional fees.
International coverage
While both extended code and toll-free can send international SMS to any destination, the shortcode is limited to the registered country. Therefore, If the client has global operations and manages them from the same Dynamics 365 instance, it is better to avoid shortcode.
Although shortcodes cannot send international SMS, we can still register more than one line and manage our journeys by using a specific number in a particular segment or a trigger with geographical limitations.
SMS Carrier Filtering
SMS can be filtered by the carrier, which limits the reach. Shortcodes are the best option to avoid filtering. Toll-free is the second-best option to prevent filtering.
Other Option – Verified Toll-Free number
Another good option that can enhance the filtering for Toll-free numbers is verified numbers. It is much easier and faster. This option requires less documentation than the shortcode.
Summary
To conclude, in my opinion, shortcodes are considered the best option that avoids carrier filtering with the highest throughput if international messages aren’t required. Choosing shortcodes comes with additional administration effort and cost; however still affordable to most organisations.
Personally
As a consumer, I trust shortcodes, and it is much more likely that I would be interacting with them than any other number by clicking on links or even reading the message.
