Sending Bulk SMS to Indian contacts
Introduction to DLT
DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology)
DLT is a blockchain-based registration system that stores bulk SMS sender-related data, such as entities, sender IDs, and message templates, in a secure manner.
What is DLT registration?
TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has mandated the DLT registration process for people who want to send bulk marketing SMSes and transactional SMSes in India. So, you need to get registered to send SMSes in India.
Earlier, only the bulk SMS providers were required to register with TRAI. With the updated rules, whoever wants to send promotional or transactional SMS to their customers needs to be DLT registered.
What is the purpose of this?
DLT registration is issued to bring forth a transparent SMS sending system and control SMS spam and fraudulent activities done using SMS. It helps marketers to align with their contact's interests and have a spam-free structure to their SMSes. Because, DLT is a secure system, the data stored (template, content, registration details) will be safe and only be accessible to the concerned parties.
Registration process
Introduction
DLT registration process consists of three steps. Once you've completed these steps, then you can send bulk SMSes to your customers in India.
Steps:
- Register your business - Entity ID/Registration ID
- Header (Sender ID) registration
- Content Template Registration - Template ID
We have described these steps in brief for your reference.
Register your business - Entity ID/Registration ID
You need to enter your business and some basic details about it like your company name and details along with GST, PAN, TAN, CIN, and so on. Once your company details are verified and you've registered, you will get the "Entity ID". You will need this entity ID to proceed further and get your Sender ID registered.
Header registration - Sender ID
Header is a combination of six characters representing your brand or company. Depending on the purpose of the SMS, the header can be classified as Promotional, Transactional, Service Implicit and Service Explicit.
For sending marketing or promotional SMS messages, such as offers, discounts, and promotions, you need to choose the "Promotional" category and choose a six-digit numeric sender ID, which will be prefixed with your business. Along with that, you need to attach proof of your business for verification.
There are certain rules while choosing your header or sender ID. Depending on your company's industry, the first digit will vary. Refer to the table below to find your industry and set the first digit of your header accordingly.
Business Category | Header must start with |
Banking/Insurance/Financial products/Credit cards | 1 |
Real Estate | 2 |
Education | 3 |
Health | 4 |
Consumer Goods and Automobiles | 5 |
Communication/Broadcasting/Entertainment/IT | 6 |
Tourism and Leisure | 7 |
Food and Beverages | 8 |
Others | 0 |
After completing this process, you'll get a unique Sender ID for your business.
Content Template Registration - Template ID
After getting the entity ID and sender ID, you need to register your content or message template. You have to choose Promotional (or other type if that applies to your requirements) under Type of communication. You then need to enter the content template's name and choose the corresponding Header or Sender ID.
Values such as amount, date, account number, OTP, customer names, and transaction ID, have to be replaced with variables. You can add variables to the content template using the symbol {#var#}
If you want to implement merge tag values in your SMS, then you can use the variable feature in the template. As the name suggests, the variable values will vary based on the contact or in our case merge tag value and the remaining content in the template will not change.
Note: The maximum character limit for a DLT variable is 30. If you want to include shortened links in your SMS, please use 2 DLT variables ({#var#}{#var#}) in your template.
Once you've sent your message or content template for approval, it will be reviewed. You can use the Template ID to send SMS messages only after it is approved by the DLT platform.
You'll need an entity ID, sender ID, and an approved content template to send bulk SMS to Indian numbers using Zoho Campaigns.
Learn more about DLT registration process in: