Partnering with TCR - FAQLast updated on 06/07/2022

The Campaign Registry (TCR) is a third-party company chosen by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular for registering application-to-person (A2P) 10-digit-long code (10DLC) messaging campaigns. TCR works both with mobile network operators and campaign service provider companies, like ServiceTitan, who are involved in sending text messages to customers on a business’s behalf. You must register your company with TCR in ServiceTitan in order to more reliably send your text messages.

10DLC numbers are ten-digit long code telephone numbers that are an alternative to short-codes, for example,80888 and toll-free numbers, such as,1-800-888-8888. A short code is five or six digits in length. Short codes used to have a higher rate of sending messages (throughput) than long codes (ten digits).

However, the industry has enhanced A2P 10DLC functionality to have high throughput rates on par with short codes and have less risk of fraudulent activities than short codes. In other words, 10DLC numbers are now able to send messages more expeditiously and legitimate messages are less likely to be marked as spam.

This affects all text communications delivered through ServiceTitan, including customer notification texts, chat, dispatch SMS messages, and review requests through Marketing Pro. For better delivery quality and reliability, mobile carriers have introduced registration requirements and surcharge fees.

You should register your business information by submitting company details in ServiceTitan. The approval process should only take a few minutes and you will be notified in ServiceTitan if your registration is approved. For more information on how to do this, please check out Register your business for SMS and MMS delivery.

Note: Some mobile network operators are planning to block non-registered senders. For example, AT&T previously announced that on June 1, 2021, they would begin blocking messages from unregistered businesses. Recently, the June 1, 2021 deadline was extended until further notice to “address specific use cases and allow time for additional campaign registration”.

You should register your company as soon as possible. Mobile carriers have not provided any definitive cut-off date. The mobile carriers have enhanced their spam filters and non-registered companies may experience a higher percentage of their text messages being filtered than ones that are registered.  If a mobile carrier, like AT&T, begins blocking all messages from non-registered senders, your customers who use AT&T will not receive text messages from you.

US operators have introduced additional registration, campaign use case fees, and pass-through carrier fees on all 10DLC traffic. Many SMS providers industry-wide have also begun passing through 10DLC registration and campaign fees, standard messaging, and carrier surcharge fees to their customers. As a provider of SMS services, ServiceTitan will also be passing through these fees without any markup beginning October 1, 2021. You will begin to see these fees posted on your November 2021 bill. Note: An SMS message is broken up into 160 character segments; whereas, MMS is more expensive but is one segment regardless of size. Mobile network operators charge by the segment, not the message.

Our modeling of the new mobile network operator surcharge fee indicates that a customer with average usage will incur a charge between $20 and $50 a month, though this could vary significantly based on seasonal use and the customer’s adoption of new features that use text messaging. The overall charge consists primarily of usage surcharge fees, on the order of $5 per 1,000 text messages, and a fixed fee of $10 per month to the TCR.

For more information on registration fees and surcharges, please visit Carrier surcharge fees.

For security reasons, business messaging has been changing from short codes to long codes. 10DLC is a new way to send A2P messages using local phone numbers.

Customer notification texts, chat, dispatch board intracompany text discussions,  and review requests through Marketing Pro are the most popular features that use SMS and MMS services.

If you are a new customer, these features are locked until you register your brand. If you are a current customer, you can still use these features but carrier fees are passed through starting October 1, 2021, and you may experience degradation of service.

No. By following the registration process, you enable your existing phone numbers to use the A2P 10DLC service.

Each carrier has their own fee structure. While most carriers charge on outbound messages, some carriers like T-Mobile also charge for incoming traffic. For more information, check the updated list of fees by carrier.