If you want to send SMS messages to recipients in India, your account must comply with DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) regulations set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The processes involved are:

1. Set up principle entities – Telemarketers chain on a DLT portal

2. Whitelist URLs and phone numbers in the DLT portal

3. Sender ID configuration

TRAI mandates that all businesses sending commercial SMS messages to Indian mobile numbers must be registered on a DLT platform. This helps prevent spam and unauthorized use of telecom resources. In this document, we’ll talk about how to complete these processes.

How to set up Principal Entities – Telemarketers Chain on a DLT portal 

As per the guidelines of TRAI, all Principal Entities (PE) must disclose the chain creation steps on DLT for Enterprises, Telemarketers for Aggregation Function (TM-AF), and Telemarketers for Delivery Function. This helps prevent unauthorized activities and misuse of telecom resources.

Linking a principal entity with a telemarketer in the DLT system is simple. To do this:

1. Log in to your DLT operator’s website.

2. Go to the SMS Telemarketer tab (this may vary depending on your DLT operator).Click on Create Chain.

3. In the pop-up window, enter 1102631350000082951 as the Telemarketer ID and choose Zoho Corporation Private Limited as the Delivery Telemarketer.

4. Click Submit.

5. A chain ID will be generated on your DLT operator’s website with a Pending status. 

Notes:

We recommend creating two chain entries with Zoho as the Telemarketer Aggregator. Both entries can be the same, using identical chain names. This helps ensure SMS delivery through our fallback mechanism, even if the direct route is unavailable or there are connectivity issues.

• Portal – The DLT portal you are using (Airtel DLT, JIO DLT, VILPower DLT, etc.)

• Business Name

• PEID (Principal Entity ID)

• Chain ID or Workflow ID (if using Airtel)

• Your Zoho Campaigns organization ID (Settings -> Company Details)

Once we approve it, you will receive an email notification. After that, you can proceed to approve the request on your DLT operator’s website.

In this example, we have used the VILPower DLT portal to show how the process works.

To set up the chain:

1. Login to your DLT portal.

2. Click on Chains, and New Chain.
   

3. Add all the relevant details about the chain including Chain Name, Telemarketer name as Zoho Corporation Private Limited, Telemarketer ID, and Telemarketer Type.

4. Click Submit.
   

5. Once you complete these steps, you can see that your chain creation request is pending on the Chain Home Page. The chain will be created once Zoho (your telemarketer) approves your request.

DLT portal help docs

You can refer to the help documentation PDFs of different DLT operators below:

• Airtel

• Jio

• VILPower

• BSNL

• Tata

• SmartPing/Satzilio

 How to whitelist URLs and phone numbers in the DLT portal 

As per the latest guidelines from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), telecom operators must whitelist URLs and callback numbers shared through text messages. This measure has been introduced to reduce spam messages and calls. For example, if your SMS content includes a URL like 'www.zylker.com/sale' or a phone number such as 'For queries, reach us at 9876543210', both must be whitelisted in your DLT portal.

Note:

Static URLs in your SMS content should begin with http, https, or www, and must not include a question mark ‘?’.

Dynamic URLs in your SMS content can also start with http, https, or www, but must обязательно include a question mark ‘?’.

Mobile numbers included in your SMS content can be written with or without the prefix 91. They must be ten digits long and start with 6, 7, 8, or 9. For example, 919876543210, 8765432109, etc.

If you use a landline number as a callback number in your SMS content, it must have ten digits and can start with 0 or without 0. For example, 02345678901, 3456789012, etc.

When a contact clicks on a URL in your SMS content, they will first be directed to our shortened URL, which will then redirect to your intended webpage URL. Therefore, it is important to whitelist our domain links. The table below provides details of our domain links along with their respective data centers (DCs). You must whitelist the correct pair of URLs based on the DC you are using.

Steps to whitelist URLs and phone numbers 

Below are the links to view the process of whitelisting URLs and phone numbers on different DLT platforms:

• Airtel

• Jio (TrueConnect)

• Vi (VIL Power)

• Tata

• BSNL

How to configure sender ID 

To configure sender ID in Zoho Campaigns,

1. Click the Settings icon in the top-right corner of the screen.

2. Click SMS under Marketing Channels.

3. In the Gateways tab, click Start Sender Configuration.

4. From the dropdown, select India as the country.

5. Click Start Registration to begin the DLT registration process.

6. During the process, you’ll have to enter these details:

* Sender ID: This is the name that appears as the sender of your SMS to recipients. It usually represents your brand or company.Example: ZYLKER

* Business Name: This is the official name of your company as registered on the DLT platform. It should match your legal or registered business name.Example: Zylker Technologies Private Limited

* DLT Operator: This refers to the telecom operator’s DLT platform where your business is registered.Example: Airtel DLT / Jio DLT / VIL Power DLT

* Principal Entity ID (PEID): This is a unique ID assigned to your business after registering on the DLT platform. It is used to identify your entity in the system.Example: 1102000000123456

* Chain ID: This is the unique ID generated when you create a chain between your business (PE) and the telemarketer on the DLT platform. It defines how your messages are routed.Example: 1102202300000001234

7. Once you enter these details, click Submit.