Bulk SMS is a service that helps you send text messages (also known as SMS) to multiple recipients, on their mobile phones.
Bulk SMS can be utilized for a variety of purposes, including:
•Promotional Messaging
•Coordination
•Notifications & Alerts
•One-to-one chat-like communication.
Bulk SMS allows you to perform these with the convenience of a PC, reaching your audience with a few clicks of a mouse.
Bulk SMS does not require any software to be installed or configured, and is accessible using any web browser.
Bulk SMS includes a variety of features required by corporates, small businesses, and even individuals
Messaging Basics
Q: What languages are supported over SMS?
With SMS, you can send messages in virtually any language, as long as the destination phone also supports that language.
Each SMS can hold text in one of the following:
GSM Text Format: This can contain text in the English language, alongwith most punctuation symbols. All GSM phones in existence today support the GSM Characterset.
Unicode Text Format: This can contain text in virtually any language, provided the destination phone supports it. It also supports all punctuation symbols in regular usage.
Bulk SMS automatically selects one of the formats based on the text you type. However, it is preferable that you understand the difference, since messages in Unicode may cost more than messages in the GSM characterset.
Q : What is a concatenated message (also known as Long Message)
A : If you enter more characters than the capacity of a single SMS message, the remaining text can be sent as multiple successive messages. Such successive messages will be received and viewed by the recipient as a single message. This message which thus exceeds the limits of a single SMS, is called a concatenated message, or a Long Message.
It should be noted that, as per the GSM protocol, each part will be billed as a single SMS, thereby increasing your cost of messaging for longer (concatenated) texts.
Q : How many characters can a message contain?
A : The limit of number of characters is dependent on whether your text's language requires the GSM text format, or Unicode; and whether the text requires concatenation.
GSM Characterset, short message:
If your text has less than, or exactly 160 English characters (and specific allowed punctuation), it will not require concatenation, and thus 1 SMS will suffice.
GSM Characterset, long message:
If your text exceeds 160 English characters (and specific allowed punctuation), you will require concatenation, with 1 SMS for EACH 152 characters of text. With this, you can go upto 912 such characters.
Unicode Characterset, short message:
If your text has less than or exactly 70 characters of text, with some or all characters in a non-English language (or special punctuation characters), then 1 SMS will suffice.
Unicode Characterset, long message:
If your text exceeds 70 characters of text, with some or all characters in a non-English language (or special punctuation characters), you will require concatenation, with 1 SMS for EACH 65 characters of text. With this, you can go upto 390 such characters.
Note that even a single character in a foreign language, or a special punctuation mark, will require that the entire message (all parts) utilize the Unicode characterset. Thus, it is generally preferred that users avoid use of such characters unless necessary.
Q: Which phones support receiving a concatenated message (long message)?
A: Virtually every GSM phone sold in the last 5 years supports long messages.
Q: Which phones support the language i require?
A: It is difficult to determine. Phone manufacturers add language capabilities based on the region the phone is sold. For example, the American Apple iPhone is unable to display messages in Arabic.
Q : Will my messages still get received in case the mobile phone of the recipient is turned off or out of network range?
A : Typically, the mobile network will hold the message, and deliver it once the phone is switched on. The maximum duration that they will hold it is dependent on the destination network. Bulk Messages are typically held for upto 48 hours or so.
Q: What are the reasons for unsuccessful delivery of a message?
A: There can be a variety of reasons for unsuccessful delivery to a handset:
Permament errors:
The destination phone number is invalid.
The handset's account is disconnected (usually due to non-payment of the handset bill or lack of credits)
The site is currently unable to deliver messages to that destination.
In permanent errors, a Delivery Report is received immediately, or in certain cases, not at all.
Temporary errors:
The handset is switched off.
The handset is out of coverage area.
The handset's inbox is full.
For such temporary errors, the network will hold the message until the handset is switched back on. If the handset is not switched back on or does not return to the coverage area within the 'message expiry' time, the network will drop the message, and return back an 'Expired' delivery report. The Message Expiry time is usually a couple of days, and is dependent on the destination network.
Note that messages facing any of the above issues will still be charged to you, since they have been sent to the destination network.
Q: Are messages delivered to handsets that are Roaming on other operators/countries?
A: The site sends messages to the destination operator. It is the responsibility of the destination operator to deliver the message to the operator where the handset is roaming.
The site does not charge any additional charges for sending to a handset that is Roaming, though the handset owner may be charged an additional amount to receive the message.
Q: How do i specify the font of my SMS message?
A: SMS messages do not support a font in the message, as per GSM protocol. The font used for display will be the font present on the phone itself. For example, if the phone was set to Large Fonts, the message will be displayed in Large Fonts, and vice versa.
Q: How do i add bold text or colors to my SMS messages?
A: SMS messages do not support bold text or colored text, as the GSM protocol. The only formatting capability is the use of space characters, and the Enter character(newline). For more capabilities beyond SMS, look into MMS messaging.
Q: How do i add pictures of music to my SMS messages?
A: SMS messages do not support pictures or music, as the GSM protocol. The only formatting capability is the use of space characters, and the Enter character(newline). For more capabilities beyond SMS, look into MMS messaging.
Q: What is Picture Messaging?
A: Picture Messaging is a mechanism to send a black-and-white low-resolution image through SMS. It is limited, outdated, and has been replaced by MMS Messaging.
Q: What is an MMS?
A: An MMS is similar to an SMS, except that:
•It can contain medium-resolution images, mp3, as well as video clips.
•It allows 1000 characters of text.
•It does not require any concatenation.
•It supports a single characterset which can be used for any language.
MMS capability will be available soon on this site.
With SMS, you can send messages in virtually any language, as long as the destination phone also supports that language.
Each SMS can hold text in one of the following:
GSM Text Format: This can contain text in the English language, alongwith most punctuation symbols. All GSM phones in existence today support the GSM Characterset.
Unicode Text Format: This can contain text in virtually any language, provided the destination phone supports it. It also supports all punctuation symbols in regular usage.
Bulk SMS automatically selects one of the formats based on the text you type. However, it is preferable that you understand the difference, since messages in Unicode may cost more than messages in the GSM characterset.
Q : What is a concatenated message (also known as Long Message)
A : If you enter more characters than the capacity of a single SMS message, the remaining text can be sent as multiple successive messages. Such successive messages will be received and viewed by the recipient as a single message. This message which thus exceeds the limits of a single SMS, is called a concatenated message, or a Long Message.
It should be noted that, as per the GSM protocol, each part will be billed as a single SMS, thereby increasing your cost of messaging for longer (concatenated) texts.
Q : How many characters can a message contain?
A : The limit of number of characters is dependent on whether your text's language requires the GSM text format, or Unicode; and whether the text requires concatenation.
GSM Characterset, short message:
If your text has less than, or exactly 160 English characters (and specific allowed punctuation), it will not require concatenation, and thus 1 SMS will suffice.
GSM Characterset, long message:
If your text exceeds 160 English characters (and specific allowed punctuation), you will require concatenation, with 1 SMS for EACH 152 characters of text. With this, you can go upto 912 such characters.
Unicode Characterset, short message:
If your text has less than or exactly 70 characters of text, with some or all characters in a non-English language (or special punctuation characters), then 1 SMS will suffice.
Unicode Characterset, long message:
If your text exceeds 70 characters of text, with some or all characters in a non-English language (or special punctuation characters), you will require concatenation, with 1 SMS for EACH 65 characters of text. With this, you can go upto 390 such characters.
Note that even a single character in a foreign language, or a special punctuation mark, will require that the entire message (all parts) utilize the Unicode characterset. Thus, it is generally preferred that users avoid use of such characters unless necessary.
Q: Which phones support receiving a concatenated message (long message)?
A: Virtually every GSM phone sold in the last 5 years supports long messages.
Q: Which phones support the language i require?
A: It is difficult to determine. Phone manufacturers add language capabilities based on the region the phone is sold. For example, the American Apple iPhone is unable to display messages in Arabic.
Q : Will my messages still get received in case the mobile phone of the recipient is turned off or out of network range?
A : Typically, the mobile network will hold the message, and deliver it once the phone is switched on. The maximum duration that they will hold it is dependent on the destination network. Bulk Messages are typically held for upto 48 hours or so.
Q: What are the reasons for unsuccessful delivery of a message?
A: There can be a variety of reasons for unsuccessful delivery to a handset:
Permament errors:
The destination phone number is invalid.
The handset's account is disconnected (usually due to non-payment of the handset bill or lack of credits)
The site is currently unable to deliver messages to that destination.
In permanent errors, a Delivery Report is received immediately, or in certain cases, not at all.
Temporary errors:
The handset is switched off.
The handset is out of coverage area.
The handset's inbox is full.
For such temporary errors, the network will hold the message until the handset is switched back on. If the handset is not switched back on or does not return to the coverage area within the 'message expiry' time, the network will drop the message, and return back an 'Expired' delivery report. The Message Expiry time is usually a couple of days, and is dependent on the destination network.
Note that messages facing any of the above issues will still be charged to you, since they have been sent to the destination network.
Q: Are messages delivered to handsets that are Roaming on other operators/countries?
A: The site sends messages to the destination operator. It is the responsibility of the destination operator to deliver the message to the operator where the handset is roaming.
The site does not charge any additional charges for sending to a handset that is Roaming, though the handset owner may be charged an additional amount to receive the message.
Q: How do i specify the font of my SMS message?
A: SMS messages do not support a font in the message, as per GSM protocol. The font used for display will be the font present on the phone itself. For example, if the phone was set to Large Fonts, the message will be displayed in Large Fonts, and vice versa.
Q: How do i add bold text or colors to my SMS messages?
A: SMS messages do not support bold text or colored text, as the GSM protocol. The only formatting capability is the use of space characters, and the Enter character(newline). For more capabilities beyond SMS, look into MMS messaging.
Q: How do i add pictures of music to my SMS messages?
A: SMS messages do not support pictures or music, as the GSM protocol. The only formatting capability is the use of space characters, and the Enter character(newline). For more capabilities beyond SMS, look into MMS messaging.
Q: What is Picture Messaging?
A: Picture Messaging is a mechanism to send a black-and-white low-resolution image through SMS. It is limited, outdated, and has been replaced by MMS Messaging.
Q: What is an MMS?
A: An MMS is similar to an SMS, except that:
•It can contain medium-resolution images, mp3, as well as video clips.
•It allows 1000 characters of text.
•It does not require any concatenation.
•It supports a single characterset which can be used for any language.
MMS capability will be available soon on this site.
Messaging Capability
Composition
Uploading Recipient Lists
A list of recipients can be uploaded either during the composition of a message (through the Advanced Compose section), or into the Address Book or a Contact Group. The steps to perform an upload are similar in both cases:
To manually type out a list of contacts, select 'Enter Numbers Manually'. In the box provided, enter the phone numbers on separate lines. If required, you can add the name, and additional 5 fields information, by typing a comma, followed by them, for example:
44345634, C. Bishop, Account 443312, Chief Executive, Weyland-Yutani Corp
44123456, H. Birdman, Account 812345, Legal Advisor, Sebben and Sebben
The first field must be the mobile phone number, followed by the name, followed by upto 5 additional fields. Only the mobile phone number is compulsary.
To upload a list of contacts in MS - Excel, one of the following mechanisms can be used: In Excel, select the column of phone numbers, and select 'Edit - Copy'. On the site, select 'Enter Numbers Manually', and Paste into the box provided. Note that you cannot use this mechanism to import names, or additional information associated with each contact.
The other alternative is, in Excel, select 'File- Save As', then select 'Comma-separated values (.csv) ' from the drop down, and click Save. On the site, select 'Upload File - Upload a CSV File - Browse', and select the csv file. Click 'Upload Now', to add the contacts to the list of recipients to send to. The first column should be the mobile phone number, followed by the name in the 2nd column, and upto 5 additional fields in the later consecutive columns.
To upload a file from another application:
Select 'Upload File - Upload a text file - Browse', and select your text file. Click 'Upload Now', to upload the contents, and use the contacts present in the file.
The text file can be in any format - the site extracts numbers from the file, treating almost all other characters, including spaces, tabs and commas as delimeters. The only characters allowed within a phone number are the bracket characters '(' and ')' and the hyphen '-' .
Thus the text format can be used to extract phone numbers from most formats, including Unix space-delimited files, tab-delimited files, XML files and other application-specific files. Note that names or other information associated with each contact cannot be extracted through the use of text file upload.
Flash messaging
Q: What is a flash message?
A Flash Message is similar to a regular SMS, except:
It is displayed on the screen of the handset immediately on delivery
It is not stored in the handset's Inbox
It can be received even if the handset's inbox is full
A handset will drop the earlier received flash message, even if unread, if it receives another one.
Thus, flash messages are designed to be used for emergency information, live information, or any other status related information that need not be stored.
Q: Can i send a flash message from the site?
A: Yes. Simply tick the 'Flash Message' tick box in either the Quick Compose or the Advanced Compose. The rates for Flash Messages are the same as for regular SMS messages.
Note that Flash Messages functionality is dependent on the destination handset. Status reports
Q: What is a Status Report/Delivery Report/Delivery Receipt?
A: A Delivery Report is a returned message that notifies you of the success or failure of the delivery of a previously-sent SMS message to a handset.
If the Delivery Report reports that the delivery was successful, the date and time of the delivery is also usually returned.
For more information about delivery and reasons for non-delivery, refer to the section 'Messaging Basics'.
Sendernames, shortcodes
Q: What is a Sender ID (also known as Sendername or Shortcode)
A: The Sender ID is the field in a message which usually contains the phone number of the sender. This site allows you to specify alphanumeric names (for example, "Apple Store") or shortcodes (for example "441234").
Q: How do I obtain a sender ID of my choice?
A: You can request additional Sender IDs are obtained through the 'Manage Sendernames' section within the 'My Account' section.
For Alphanumeric Sender IDs, you can enter any textual name that you wish, of which at least one character must be non-numeric. It is limited to 11 characters, in the GSM characterset only (for more details on GSM characterset, see Messaging Basics).
For shortcodes, you will have to choose one of the existing shortcodes that are available in the system. Some shortcodes may be valid only on the network that they are defined on.
Both Alphanumeric Sender IDs and shortcodes need to be approved before you can use them, for security reasons. You may also need to provide appropriate documentation to prove your use of the sender ID.
Q: My 'Manage Sendernames' section does not display any Sender IDs, but my composition pages have a sendername.
A: This is the system sendername, which you are allowed to use until you obtain approvals for your own sendername.
Q: I requested a sendername on signup, but my messages are being sent with another name.
A: The sendername requested on signup may not have been approved. Until it is approved, you will be provided a temporary system sendername, so that you can test your messaging.
Q : When I create a sender name, it displays status as 'Blocked,awaiting approval'. What does it mean?
A : It means that the Sender Names that you have created have to be approved by the SMS Provider. Unless they are not approved, you cannot utilize them in sending any messages. Inbound
Q : Do you support two-way SMS?
A : Yes, recipients of messages that you sent via our system can reply to your messages, provided:
You have at least one approved shortcode in your account
This shortcode was chosen while sending messages to the handset.
This shortcode supports the receiving of messages from the network of that handset.
Your login is the Primary User within your account.
The reply messages will be present within the Inbox in your account.
SMPP
Q: What is SMPP?
A: SMPP is an industry-standard protocol exclusively designed for SMS messaging. There are a variety of client applications, alerting applications, and routing/reselling servers that support it. This site supports SMPP version 3.4.
Q: How do i use SMPP with my account?
A: Login to your account, and navigate to the My Account - SMPP Settings section.
Note down the settings displayed, which need to be entered into your client software.
Enter any password - the same password needs to be entered into your client software. This password should not exceed 8 characters. Note that, for security reasons, it is recommended that you use a password different from that used to login to the site.
Q: My SMPP client software does not receive Delivery Reports and incoming messages (SMS-MO) .
A: By default, your Delivery Reports and incoming replies are sent to the 'Delivery Reports' and 'Inbox' of the web site. You can change this preference in your My Account - SMPP Settings section within the site.
Q: Some content sent over SMPP is garbled, or punctuation characters are altered.
A: Your client may not support the SMPP protocol entirely. Contact support for more detailed testing.
Web Services
Q: What are web services, and what can I do with them?
A: Web Services are a generic mechanism for an application running on a computer, to invoke or use services provided by another application running on another computer.
Web services are independent of programming language, Operating System type, or other factors.
This site provides Web Services through which core functionality can be used, for example:
Send an SMS Message to a single recipient.
Send SMS Messages to multiple recipients.
Receive an inbound SMS (SMS-MO).
Receive a status report.
Check Account Balance.
Through these features, software developers can easily integrate SMS messaging into their applications.
Message Delivery
Q : How long will my message take to be delivered?
A : Generally, sms messages will be delivered within seconds. However, it depends on several factors, including
Queues at the destination network.
Queues at the site.
Temporary outages
If your messages are of a nature where immediate delivery is paramount, for example, stock market alerts, credit card transaction alerts, and other such realtime applications, we recommend use of our Premium Links. Messages sent through these links jump queues, or involve networks which suffer from less loads than Budget links.
Expected timeframes for delivery on Budget links range from 30 seconds to 1 hour.
Expected timeframes for delivery on Premium links are within 10 seconds to a minute.
Coverage
Q : What are the countries/networks that I can send messages to?
A : The coverage list can be viewed by clicking on the 'Coverage list' link on the login page.
Note that the Numerator's coverage area may not be the same as the SMS coverage.
Credits
Q: Where are my credits?
A: The amount of credits present in your account are displayed at the left, below the menu. These are held as amounts in Euros, but can be displayed in any currency of your choice.
Note that your credits can change slightly even if not used, due to currency fluctuations between the Euro and your chosen currency. If you wish to be unaffected by these fluctuations, change your account preferences - currency to Euro.
Q : How do I purchase more credits?
A : There are multiple ways to purchase credits:
Through Credit Card/Bank Card: Click on My Account - Purchase Credits to purchase using your card. Note that only certain cards may be supported depending on your region.
Through Cash/Cheque: Contact the site personnel through the contact information listed on the login page, to pay through other means.
Through either payment method, you should see your credits increase by the amount paid. You can refer to your purchases by clicking on the My Account - Transaction section of the site.
Rates
Q : How much does it cost to send an SMS?
A : SMS Prices differ based on:
The destination network being sent to
The type of link (Budget/Premium)
The discounts you are eligible for based on your past usages.
Clicking on the 'Tariffs' section in the menu displays you the complete price list.
Also note that these prices are for each single SMS. Concatenated SMS (long SMS) are charged the same rates for each part SMS.
Slabs
Q: How do the volume pricing discounts work?
A: Each route displayed in your 'Tariffs' section may have different prices for different volumes, for example,
>1 $1.00
>10,000 $0.90
>50,000 $0.80
The left column relates to your total volume of messaging over the past 30 days. Thus, if your account has sent, say, 15,000 messages in the past 30 days, the next 35,000 messages sent today will be sent at the rate of $0.90. Any messages beyond that will be sent at $0.80.
Similarly, discounts for messages sent tomorrow will be dependent on your volume in the past 29 days, plus today's volume.
You can view your usage over the past 30 days by clicking on My Account - Messaging Volume History Report.
Reseller volumes are calculated a little differently - see your reseller documentation for more details.
Billing cycle
Q: Are there any account charges?
A: There is a nominal monthly rental charge for maintaining an account on the system, and one for shortcodes used for 2-way messaging (alphanumeric sendernames are free of charge).
Reseller account may be levied additional charges, detailed separately in the Reseller Guide.
Q: How are the monthly charges levied?
A: The monthly charges are levied on the 1st of every month, in advance. Should you cancel out of a feature, for example, return a shortcode to the system, the remaining charges for the month are refunded back to your account.
A list of the account's charges can be found in the My Account - Transactions section.
Routes
Q: What are routes, and how do I use them?
A: Messaging prices differ depending on the destination of each message. Your messaging tariff is broken down based on each of the destinations available, as well as the type of routing you prefer (Budget links or Premium links)
You can perform your campaigns without thinking about the routes used, since a batch of messages can include phone numbers belonging to any destination - the price will be calculated based on the messages sent to that destination.
For example, if you perform a campaign that comprises:
300 SMS to Orange, UK, at $0.30 per SMS,
500 SMS to MTN, South Africa, at $0.10 per SMS,
100 SMS to Icecell, Iceland, at $0.25 per SMS,
your total cost of the campaign will be
300 x 0.30 = $90, plus
500 x 0.10 = $50, plus
100 x 0.25 = $25
totalling $165.
You do not need to split your batches, or perform separate campaigns to obtain these rates. The system provides you the most optimum rates automatically.
Outbound routing
Q: How do I change the routes that are used?
A: Each route supports a particular set of destinations, which can be viewed by clicking on it in the Tariffs page.
The My Account - Manage Outbound Routing section defines the routes that will be used for those specified destinations.
The account administrator can change the route that will be used for a particular destination - this new route setting will affect all logins in his account.
Q: How do i compose and send Bulk Message through the site?
A: The site contains 2 kinds of composition mechanisms, to aid you in composing your message: Quick Compose - a single page, that allows you to send messages to a large number of recipients quickly.
Advanced Compose - a wizard, which prompts you through the steps required. The wizard also helps you to:
•Use your built-in address book and contact groups
•Upload mailing lists from your computer and other applications
•Check for duplicate phone numbers between all of the selected/uploaded recipients phone numbers.
•Use message templates, message merging & personalization, and other features
•Preview your message before it is sent.
Thus, you can use either message composition based on your requirements.
Q: What format do i use to enter phone numbers?
A: Any format, as long as the country code prefixes are entered, for example,
44123456
044123456
0044123456
all refer to the same number based in the UK ('44'), and are all valid.
It is generally recommended that the '44123456' format be used.
Note that other characters, including spaces, are not allowed within phone numbers. Phone numbers that include spaces, brackets, or hyphens, will be rejected by the system.
Q: How does the duplicate checking work?
A: Duplicate checking is present in both the Quick Compose as well as the Advanced Compose, though Advanced Compose's mechanism allows for duplicate checking against several sources.
In the Quick Compose, the system detects if 2 or more numbers entered/pasted into the 'Phone Numbers' box are the same.
In the Advanced Compose, clicking on the Next link in the 'Select Recipients' checks for duplicates, and displays them.
Note that duplicate checking can locate duplicates even if they are entered using differing formats.
Q: I have numbers in various sources? Can I send a message to them all together?
A: Yes, you can, including the duplicate checking.
Click on Advanced Compose on the left menu.
Select 'SMS', and click Next. The 'Select Recipients' page will be displayed.
Use the options in the 'Select Recipients' page to import or upload each source of phone numbers. The uploaded numbers will appear at the lower portion of the page. For more details on uploading, refer to the 'Uploading Recipient Lists' section in this FAQ.
Once all your contact lists have been uploaded, click on the Next link in the 'Select Recipients' page to check the uploaded lists for duplicates.
Q: I want the message to include the actual name of the customer, for example "Dear Tom..."
A: Refer to the section on 'Merging' for more details.
Q: I want the message to include one of the data present in the user-defined fields of the address book, for example "Mention your account number 739528 when you call us"
A: Refer to the section on 'Merging' for more details.
Q: I want the message to include additional information i have on my Excel Sheet, for example, "Your unpaid balance is $250"
A: Refer to the section on 'Merging' for more details.
A: The site contains 2 kinds of composition mechanisms, to aid you in composing your message: Quick Compose - a single page, that allows you to send messages to a large number of recipients quickly.
Advanced Compose - a wizard, which prompts you through the steps required. The wizard also helps you to:
•Use your built-in address book and contact groups
•Upload mailing lists from your computer and other applications
•Check for duplicate phone numbers between all of the selected/uploaded recipients phone numbers.
•Use message templates, message merging & personalization, and other features
•Preview your message before it is sent.
Thus, you can use either message composition based on your requirements.
Q: What format do i use to enter phone numbers?
A: Any format, as long as the country code prefixes are entered, for example,
44123456
044123456
0044123456
all refer to the same number based in the UK ('44'), and are all valid.
It is generally recommended that the '44123456' format be used.
Note that other characters, including spaces, are not allowed within phone numbers. Phone numbers that include spaces, brackets, or hyphens, will be rejected by the system.
Q: How does the duplicate checking work?
A: Duplicate checking is present in both the Quick Compose as well as the Advanced Compose, though Advanced Compose's mechanism allows for duplicate checking against several sources.
In the Quick Compose, the system detects if 2 or more numbers entered/pasted into the 'Phone Numbers' box are the same.
In the Advanced Compose, clicking on the Next link in the 'Select Recipients' checks for duplicates, and displays them.
Note that duplicate checking can locate duplicates even if they are entered using differing formats.
Q: I have numbers in various sources? Can I send a message to them all together?
A: Yes, you can, including the duplicate checking.
Click on Advanced Compose on the left menu.
Select 'SMS', and click Next. The 'Select Recipients' page will be displayed.
Use the options in the 'Select Recipients' page to import or upload each source of phone numbers. The uploaded numbers will appear at the lower portion of the page. For more details on uploading, refer to the 'Uploading Recipient Lists' section in this FAQ.
Once all your contact lists have been uploaded, click on the Next link in the 'Select Recipients' page to check the uploaded lists for duplicates.
Q: I want the message to include the actual name of the customer, for example "Dear Tom..."
A: Refer to the section on 'Merging' for more details.
Q: I want the message to include one of the data present in the user-defined fields of the address book, for example "Mention your account number 739528 when you call us"
A: Refer to the section on 'Merging' for more details.
Q: I want the message to include additional information i have on my Excel Sheet, for example, "Your unpaid balance is $250"
A: Refer to the section on 'Merging' for more details.
Uploading Recipient Lists
A list of recipients can be uploaded either during the composition of a message (through the Advanced Compose section), or into the Address Book or a Contact Group. The steps to perform an upload are similar in both cases:
To manually type out a list of contacts, select 'Enter Numbers Manually'. In the box provided, enter the phone numbers on separate lines. If required, you can add the name, and additional 5 fields information, by typing a comma, followed by them, for example:
44345634, C. Bishop, Account 443312, Chief Executive, Weyland-Yutani Corp
44123456, H. Birdman, Account 812345, Legal Advisor, Sebben and Sebben
The first field must be the mobile phone number, followed by the name, followed by upto 5 additional fields. Only the mobile phone number is compulsary.
To upload a list of contacts in MS - Excel, one of the following mechanisms can be used: In Excel, select the column of phone numbers, and select 'Edit - Copy'. On the site, select 'Enter Numbers Manually', and Paste into the box provided. Note that you cannot use this mechanism to import names, or additional information associated with each contact.
The other alternative is, in Excel, select 'File- Save As', then select 'Comma-separated values (.csv) ' from the drop down, and click Save. On the site, select 'Upload File - Upload a CSV File - Browse', and select the csv file. Click 'Upload Now', to add the contacts to the list of recipients to send to. The first column should be the mobile phone number, followed by the name in the 2nd column, and upto 5 additional fields in the later consecutive columns.
To upload a file from another application:
Select 'Upload File - Upload a text file - Browse', and select your text file. Click 'Upload Now', to upload the contents, and use the contacts present in the file.
The text file can be in any format - the site extracts numbers from the file, treating almost all other characters, including spaces, tabs and commas as delimeters. The only characters allowed within a phone number are the bracket characters '(' and ')' and the hyphen '-' .
Thus the text format can be used to extract phone numbers from most formats, including Unix space-delimited files, tab-delimited files, XML files and other application-specific files. Note that names or other information associated with each contact cannot be extracted through the use of text file upload.
Flash messaging
Q: What is a flash message?
A Flash Message is similar to a regular SMS, except:
It is displayed on the screen of the handset immediately on delivery
It is not stored in the handset's Inbox
It can be received even if the handset's inbox is full
A handset will drop the earlier received flash message, even if unread, if it receives another one.
Thus, flash messages are designed to be used for emergency information, live information, or any other status related information that need not be stored.
Q: Can i send a flash message from the site?
A: Yes. Simply tick the 'Flash Message' tick box in either the Quick Compose or the Advanced Compose. The rates for Flash Messages are the same as for regular SMS messages.
Note that Flash Messages functionality is dependent on the destination handset. Status reports
Q: What is a Status Report/Delivery Report/Delivery Receipt?
A: A Delivery Report is a returned message that notifies you of the success or failure of the delivery of a previously-sent SMS message to a handset.
If the Delivery Report reports that the delivery was successful, the date and time of the delivery is also usually returned.
For more information about delivery and reasons for non-delivery, refer to the section 'Messaging Basics'.
Sendernames, shortcodes
Q: What is a Sender ID (also known as Sendername or Shortcode)
A: The Sender ID is the field in a message which usually contains the phone number of the sender. This site allows you to specify alphanumeric names (for example, "Apple Store") or shortcodes (for example "441234").
Q: How do I obtain a sender ID of my choice?
A: You can request additional Sender IDs are obtained through the 'Manage Sendernames' section within the 'My Account' section.
For Alphanumeric Sender IDs, you can enter any textual name that you wish, of which at least one character must be non-numeric. It is limited to 11 characters, in the GSM characterset only (for more details on GSM characterset, see Messaging Basics).
For shortcodes, you will have to choose one of the existing shortcodes that are available in the system. Some shortcodes may be valid only on the network that they are defined on.
Both Alphanumeric Sender IDs and shortcodes need to be approved before you can use them, for security reasons. You may also need to provide appropriate documentation to prove your use of the sender ID.
Q: My 'Manage Sendernames' section does not display any Sender IDs, but my composition pages have a sendername.
A: This is the system sendername, which you are allowed to use until you obtain approvals for your own sendername.
Q: I requested a sendername on signup, but my messages are being sent with another name.
A: The sendername requested on signup may not have been approved. Until it is approved, you will be provided a temporary system sendername, so that you can test your messaging.
Q : When I create a sender name, it displays status as 'Blocked,awaiting approval'. What does it mean?
A : It means that the Sender Names that you have created have to be approved by the SMS Provider. Unless they are not approved, you cannot utilize them in sending any messages. Inbound
Q : Do you support two-way SMS?
A : Yes, recipients of messages that you sent via our system can reply to your messages, provided:
You have at least one approved shortcode in your account
This shortcode was chosen while sending messages to the handset.
This shortcode supports the receiving of messages from the network of that handset.
Your login is the Primary User within your account.
The reply messages will be present within the Inbox in your account.
SMPP
Q: What is SMPP?
A: SMPP is an industry-standard protocol exclusively designed for SMS messaging. There are a variety of client applications, alerting applications, and routing/reselling servers that support it. This site supports SMPP version 3.4.
Q: How do i use SMPP with my account?
A: Login to your account, and navigate to the My Account - SMPP Settings section.
Note down the settings displayed, which need to be entered into your client software.
Enter any password - the same password needs to be entered into your client software. This password should not exceed 8 characters. Note that, for security reasons, it is recommended that you use a password different from that used to login to the site.
Q: My SMPP client software does not receive Delivery Reports and incoming messages (SMS-MO) .
A: By default, your Delivery Reports and incoming replies are sent to the 'Delivery Reports' and 'Inbox' of the web site. You can change this preference in your My Account - SMPP Settings section within the site.
Q: Some content sent over SMPP is garbled, or punctuation characters are altered.
A: Your client may not support the SMPP protocol entirely. Contact support for more detailed testing.
Web Services
Q: What are web services, and what can I do with them?
A: Web Services are a generic mechanism for an application running on a computer, to invoke or use services provided by another application running on another computer.
Web services are independent of programming language, Operating System type, or other factors.
This site provides Web Services through which core functionality can be used, for example:
Send an SMS Message to a single recipient.
Send SMS Messages to multiple recipients.
Receive an inbound SMS (SMS-MO).
Receive a status report.
Check Account Balance.
Through these features, software developers can easily integrate SMS messaging into their applications.
Message Delivery
Q : How long will my message take to be delivered?
A : Generally, sms messages will be delivered within seconds. However, it depends on several factors, including
Queues at the destination network.
Queues at the site.
Temporary outages
If your messages are of a nature where immediate delivery is paramount, for example, stock market alerts, credit card transaction alerts, and other such realtime applications, we recommend use of our Premium Links. Messages sent through these links jump queues, or involve networks which suffer from less loads than Budget links.
Expected timeframes for delivery on Budget links range from 30 seconds to 1 hour.
Expected timeframes for delivery on Premium links are within 10 seconds to a minute.
Coverage
Q : What are the countries/networks that I can send messages to?
A : The coverage list can be viewed by clicking on the 'Coverage list' link on the login page.
Note that the Numerator's coverage area may not be the same as the SMS coverage.
Credits
Q: Where are my credits?
A: The amount of credits present in your account are displayed at the left, below the menu. These are held as amounts in Euros, but can be displayed in any currency of your choice.
Note that your credits can change slightly even if not used, due to currency fluctuations between the Euro and your chosen currency. If you wish to be unaffected by these fluctuations, change your account preferences - currency to Euro.
Q : How do I purchase more credits?
A : There are multiple ways to purchase credits:
Through Credit Card/Bank Card: Click on My Account - Purchase Credits to purchase using your card. Note that only certain cards may be supported depending on your region.
Through Cash/Cheque: Contact the site personnel through the contact information listed on the login page, to pay through other means.
Through either payment method, you should see your credits increase by the amount paid. You can refer to your purchases by clicking on the My Account - Transaction section of the site.
Rates
Q : How much does it cost to send an SMS?
A : SMS Prices differ based on:
The destination network being sent to
The type of link (Budget/Premium)
The discounts you are eligible for based on your past usages.
Clicking on the 'Tariffs' section in the menu displays you the complete price list.
Also note that these prices are for each single SMS. Concatenated SMS (long SMS) are charged the same rates for each part SMS.
Slabs
Q: How do the volume pricing discounts work?
A: Each route displayed in your 'Tariffs' section may have different prices for different volumes, for example,
>1 $1.00
>10,000 $0.90
>50,000 $0.80
The left column relates to your total volume of messaging over the past 30 days. Thus, if your account has sent, say, 15,000 messages in the past 30 days, the next 35,000 messages sent today will be sent at the rate of $0.90. Any messages beyond that will be sent at $0.80.
Similarly, discounts for messages sent tomorrow will be dependent on your volume in the past 29 days, plus today's volume.
You can view your usage over the past 30 days by clicking on My Account - Messaging Volume History Report.
Reseller volumes are calculated a little differently - see your reseller documentation for more details.
Billing cycle
Q: Are there any account charges?
A: There is a nominal monthly rental charge for maintaining an account on the system, and one for shortcodes used for 2-way messaging (alphanumeric sendernames are free of charge).
Reseller account may be levied additional charges, detailed separately in the Reseller Guide.
Q: How are the monthly charges levied?
A: The monthly charges are levied on the 1st of every month, in advance. Should you cancel out of a feature, for example, return a shortcode to the system, the remaining charges for the month are refunded back to your account.
A list of the account's charges can be found in the My Account - Transactions section.
Routes
Q: What are routes, and how do I use them?
A: Messaging prices differ depending on the destination of each message. Your messaging tariff is broken down based on each of the destinations available, as well as the type of routing you prefer (Budget links or Premium links)
You can perform your campaigns without thinking about the routes used, since a batch of messages can include phone numbers belonging to any destination - the price will be calculated based on the messages sent to that destination.
For example, if you perform a campaign that comprises:
300 SMS to Orange, UK, at $0.30 per SMS,
500 SMS to MTN, South Africa, at $0.10 per SMS,
100 SMS to Icecell, Iceland, at $0.25 per SMS,
your total cost of the campaign will be
300 x 0.30 = $90, plus
500 x 0.10 = $50, plus
100 x 0.25 = $25
totalling $165.
You do not need to split your batches, or perform separate campaigns to obtain these rates. The system provides you the most optimum rates automatically.
Outbound routing
Q: How do I change the routes that are used?
A: Each route supports a particular set of destinations, which can be viewed by clicking on it in the Tariffs page.
The My Account - Manage Outbound Routing section defines the routes that will be used for those specified destinations.
The account administrator can change the route that will be used for a particular destination - this new route setting will affect all logins in his account.
Messaging Features
User defined fields
Q : What are user-defined fields?
A : User-Defined fields are attributes which can be used to store additional information with each contact. These additional information can be attached to contacts in the address book, contact groups, or even contacts that are uploaded for an sms campaign.
The information contained in them can be embedded into messages that are sent to those contacts, thus customizing each message to each recipient. For more information about this feature, see the section on Merging.
The system allows you to store the name, and upto 5 additional fields of information. These fields, while textual, can be named any name you wish, for example, the first field can be named 'Age' and the second 'Account Number'.
Naming of the fields can be performed by clicking on My Account - User Defined Fields. This naming is purely for your convenience, and does not affect the operation of the system in any way.
Merging
Q : Can I send a group message that includes the name of each person I am sending to?
A: You can embed recipient-specific information through the merging features. Merging allows you to create customized messages, for example,
"Dear Lawrence, your balance is US$ 11.00. "
"Dear Isuki, your balance is EUR 34.50."
To use merging, you need to associate additional information along with each recipient's phone number. Typically, this will be the name of the recipient, and the system allows an additional 5 pieces of information to be associated with a recipient, also known as user-defined fields.
To store the name and additional information along with contacts in your address book and contact groups, refer to the 'Contact Groups' section.
To add the name and additional information along with recipient phone numbers that you wish to upload, refer to the 'Uploading Recipient Lists' section.
When the message is being composed, add tags which will be replaced by the additional information for that contact. The following tags are available:
[PHONENO] - This will be replaced by the destination phone number for that message.
[NAME] - This will be replaced by the name of the recipient of the message.
[FIELD1] - This will be replaced by the first user-defined field of information for that recipient.
... [FIELD5] - This will be replaced by the fifth user-defined field of information for that recipient.
Note:The tag names are not case-sensitive.
For example, the earlier example's content would be entered as
"Dear [NAME], your balance is [FIELD1] [FIELD2]."
Note: Renaming a user-defined field to a custom name does not change the name of the tag. Scheduling
Q : Can I send a message at a later date and time?
A : Yes, you can schedule a message for a specific date and time. This feature is available only in the Advanced Compose, and is present in the Options page.
Predefined Messages
Q : What are predefined messages? How do I add, edit and delete them?
A : Predefined messages are message texts written and stored once, and which can be re-used in the future.
If you find yourself entering the same set of texts into messages, create a Predefined Message, which you can select to send that message.
Note that Predefined Messages only hold the text part of the message, and do not include any recipients or other information.
To create a Predefined Message:
1. Select My Accounts - Predefined Messages.
3. Click on Add.
4. Here enter your Message Title and your desired Message.
5. Click on Save.
The Add, Edit and Delete buttons present allow you to manage the list of predefined messages.
Message templates can only be used in the Advanced Compose section. To use it, simply select it from the box in the Compose page.
Batches
Q : What is a Batch and Message Batch Name?
A : A batch is a single send of messages, whether to a single recipient, or to a large number of recipients.
Typically, a batch can be used for a single campaign that you wish to perform, though splitting a campaign into smaller batches is also common.
Organizing a campaign batchwise is advantageous, since statistics of message sending and delivery are displayed per-batch.
The Message Batch Name is any name that you want to give to your batch. This allows you to search for the batch in future, within the Outbox and the Sent Messages sections. The Message Batch Name is not sent to recipients.
Message storage limits
Q : What are user-defined fields?
A : User-Defined fields are attributes which can be used to store additional information with each contact. These additional information can be attached to contacts in the address book, contact groups, or even contacts that are uploaded for an sms campaign.
The information contained in them can be embedded into messages that are sent to those contacts, thus customizing each message to each recipient. For more information about this feature, see the section on Merging.
The system allows you to store the name, and upto 5 additional fields of information. These fields, while textual, can be named any name you wish, for example, the first field can be named 'Age' and the second 'Account Number'.
Naming of the fields can be performed by clicking on My Account - User Defined Fields. This naming is purely for your convenience, and does not affect the operation of the system in any way.
Merging
Q : Can I send a group message that includes the name of each person I am sending to?
A: You can embed recipient-specific information through the merging features. Merging allows you to create customized messages, for example,
"Dear Lawrence, your balance is US$ 11.00. "
"Dear Isuki, your balance is EUR 34.50."
To use merging, you need to associate additional information along with each recipient's phone number. Typically, this will be the name of the recipient, and the system allows an additional 5 pieces of information to be associated with a recipient, also known as user-defined fields.
To store the name and additional information along with contacts in your address book and contact groups, refer to the 'Contact Groups' section.
To add the name and additional information along with recipient phone numbers that you wish to upload, refer to the 'Uploading Recipient Lists' section.
When the message is being composed, add tags which will be replaced by the additional information for that contact. The following tags are available:
[PHONENO] - This will be replaced by the destination phone number for that message.
[NAME] - This will be replaced by the name of the recipient of the message.
[FIELD1] - This will be replaced by the first user-defined field of information for that recipient.
... [FIELD5] - This will be replaced by the fifth user-defined field of information for that recipient.
Note:The tag names are not case-sensitive.
For example, the earlier example's content would be entered as
"Dear [NAME], your balance is [FIELD1] [FIELD2]."
Note: Renaming a user-defined field to a custom name does not change the name of the tag. Scheduling
Q : Can I send a message at a later date and time?
A : Yes, you can schedule a message for a specific date and time. This feature is available only in the Advanced Compose, and is present in the Options page.
Predefined Messages
Q : What are predefined messages? How do I add, edit and delete them?
A : Predefined messages are message texts written and stored once, and which can be re-used in the future.
If you find yourself entering the same set of texts into messages, create a Predefined Message, which you can select to send that message.
Note that Predefined Messages only hold the text part of the message, and do not include any recipients or other information.
To create a Predefined Message:
1. Select My Accounts - Predefined Messages.
3. Click on Add.
4. Here enter your Message Title and your desired Message.
5. Click on Save.
The Add, Edit and Delete buttons present allow you to manage the list of predefined messages.
Message templates can only be used in the Advanced Compose section. To use it, simply select it from the box in the Compose page.
Batches
Q : What is a Batch and Message Batch Name?
A : A batch is a single send of messages, whether to a single recipient, or to a large number of recipients.
Typically, a batch can be used for a single campaign that you wish to perform, though splitting a campaign into smaller batches is also common.
Organizing a campaign batchwise is advantageous, since statistics of message sending and delivery are displayed per-batch.
The Message Batch Name is any name that you want to give to your batch. This allows you to search for the batch in future, within the Outbox and the Sent Messages sections. The Message Batch Name is not sent to recipients.
Message storage limits
Q: How many messages will my Inbox and Sent Messages store?
A: An account is allowed to hold upto 100,000 messages and delivery reports, or messages/delivery reports sent/received within the past 6 months, whichever is less.
Messages beyond this period are purged from the system, but will be available for download to your computer. Such logs will not be held indefinitely - it is recommended that you download your logs at least every 6 months and maintain them on your premises.
For accounts having more than one login, equivalent percentages of messages will be purged to reduce the total number of messages to 100,000. Thus, if you are part of an organization having several logins, a few messages/delivery reports will be purged even though you individually may not have more than 100,000 messages in your Inbox/Sent Messages.
Note: Your Inbox, Sent Messages and Delivery Reports have independent limits - your Inbox messages will not be purged if your Sent Messages exceed the storage limits. Note: The Outbox, Address Book and Contact Groups are never purged.
A: An account is allowed to hold upto 100,000 messages and delivery reports, or messages/delivery reports sent/received within the past 6 months, whichever is less.
Messages beyond this period are purged from the system, but will be available for download to your computer. Such logs will not be held indefinitely - it is recommended that you download your logs at least every 6 months and maintain them on your premises.
For accounts having more than one login, equivalent percentages of messages will be purged to reduce the total number of messages to 100,000. Thus, if you are part of an organization having several logins, a few messages/delivery reports will be purged even though you individually may not have more than 100,000 messages in your Inbox/Sent Messages.
Note: Your Inbox, Sent Messages and Delivery Reports have independent limits - your Inbox messages will not be purged if your Sent Messages exceed the storage limits. Note: The Outbox, Address Book and Contact Groups are never purged.
Site Features
Contact groups
Q: What is the Address Book, and Contact Groups?
A: The Address Book is a place to store contact information of the persons you frequently send messages to. Each contact can hold the name, phone number, and 5 additional pieces of information.
A contact group is a grouping of contacts having some kind of commonality, to whom you would like to send a message. For example, all employees in the Sales Department can be grouped into one group.
The same contact can be listed in more than one contact group.
Note that the address book is also a contact group. Thus, you can perform campaigns to all contacts in your complete address book.
There is no limit to the number of contacts you can store in a group.
Note that editing or deleting a contact in one contact group does not affect the same contact in other contact groups, even if they were added into this group from the earlier group.
Q : Can I create a new Contact Group?
1. Click on Contact Groups button on the left menu - this will display the Manage Contact Groups page with all the contacts groups present.
2. Click on Add new group, enter details and click on the OK button to save.
You can create as many contact groups as you like.
Q : How do I add existing contacts to groups?
1. Click on the Contact Groups link on the left menu to display the Manage Contact Groups Page. It displays the list of groups present.
2. Click on the Edit button next to the group to be edited.
3. Click on Add from contacts button to display all the contacts present in your address book.
4. Select the contacts to be added by clicking the check box and Click on Add checked contacts to add it to group.
Q : Can one contact be present in different groups?
A : Yes, one contact can be present in more than one group. Also, changes to the original contact do not affect the copy of the contact in the new group.
Q : How do I add bulk contacts to groups?
1. You can add bulk contacts to groups using either CSV files, or text files. MS-Excel files need to be converted to CSV before upload.
For more details, refer to the section 'Uploading Recipient Lists'.
Q: Can I test whether my contacts are valid phone numbers before sending them?
A: The Numerator feature allows you to clean your contact group or address book, separating them into valid and invalid contacts. For more details, refer to the section on Numerator.
Multiple logins
Q: Can multiple users use the site?
A: Yes, and each user can have his own login with independent username and password.
To create additional users, select 'My Account - Corporator', and use this section to add logins for other users in your organization. Each login's rights can also be restricted here.
Note that the account's credits and account-level settings will be common to all logins in that account.
If you are unable to access this section, ensure that you have the rights to do so. The Primary User - the first login created alongwith the account - will possess all the rights in the account.
Reports
Q: How can I ascertain the amount of usage in my account, when, and by whom?
A: Several reports are present in your account, accessible by selecting 'My account' from the left menu.
Summary Report of Messaging Usage: This section contains reports that detail the number and price of messages used in the account, separated by login, date or messaging route.
Summary Report of Numerator Usage: This section contains reports that detail the numerator usage in your account, separated by login and date.
Messaging Volume History Report: This report displays your account's messaging usage over the past 30 days. This is used to calculate the messaging discounts that are applicable to your account.
Currencies
Q: Can I see my credit amounts in my own currency?
A: You can change your currency display preference by selecting My Account - Edit your Preferences, and selecting the currency from the 'Display Currency Preference'. If your currency is not present, it is recommended that you select 'Euro'.
Note that all rates and credits are stored on the system in Euros, and so the amounts may fluctuate based on fluctuations between your chosen display currency and the Euro. If you wish to accurately track your usage without any currency fluctuations, select Euro as your display currency.
Time zones
Q: My scheduled messages are not being sent at the time I have specified.
A: Your time zone settings may not be valid. Select My Account - Edit your Preferences, and choose your time zone.
All times displayed in the system will be displayed as per your time zone choice here. Test accounts
Q: A warning 'This account is a test account' is displayed on my home page.
A: The site provides customers with protection by preventing the site's administrators from deleting account and manipulating credits. A test account is one where, due to its test nature, such protection is not present.
To enable this protection, contact support. They will be able to convert your test account to a final account. The warning message is not displayed on final accounts. Converting a test account to a final account also does not incur any charges.
It is unwise to purchase a large number of credits if your account is a test account.
Note that a final account cannot be converted back to a test account.
Numerator
Q: What is the Numerator?
A: The numerator is a feature which allows you to verify the validity of recipient phone numbers before you perform campaigns.
The numerator will separate any list you provide into the following sets:
Valid numbers: These phone numbers are valid, ie, the SIM cards have valid accounts, and it is highly likely that delivery of messages to these numbers will be successful. Note that delivery of messages may still fail in certain rare circumstances, for example, due to a full inbox on the handset.
Invalid numbers: These phone numbers are invalid, ie, they have never been issued to any customer, or their SIM cards have been closed or suspended. It is highly recommended that you do not send messages to these phone numbers, since they will not be delivered, but messages sent to them will still be billed to your account.
Unknown: The validity of these recipients is unknown. Since they may be valid, you may perform campaigns to these recipients.
Out of Coverage: The Numerator is unable to check for validity of phone numbers on the network that this number resides in.
Note that running the Numerator incurs additional charges based on the number of recipients checked. Numerator charges will not be charged only for recipients resulting in the 'Out of Coverage' result.
Numerator Pricing
Q: How much does the Numerator cost?
A: The Numerator's tariffs can be determined by clicking on the 'Tariffs' link on the left menu. Note that Numerator prices are not dependent on the country/network of the recipient number. Numerator Coverage
Q: Which countries/networks are covered by the Numerator?
A: The numerator's coverage list can be found by selecting 'Numerator' on the left menu, then selecting Numerator Coverage Zone.
Q: What is the Address Book, and Contact Groups?
A: The Address Book is a place to store contact information of the persons you frequently send messages to. Each contact can hold the name, phone number, and 5 additional pieces of information.
A contact group is a grouping of contacts having some kind of commonality, to whom you would like to send a message. For example, all employees in the Sales Department can be grouped into one group.
The same contact can be listed in more than one contact group.
Note that the address book is also a contact group. Thus, you can perform campaigns to all contacts in your complete address book.
There is no limit to the number of contacts you can store in a group.
Note that editing or deleting a contact in one contact group does not affect the same contact in other contact groups, even if they were added into this group from the earlier group.
Q : Can I create a new Contact Group?
1. Click on Contact Groups button on the left menu - this will display the Manage Contact Groups page with all the contacts groups present.
2. Click on Add new group, enter details and click on the OK button to save.
You can create as many contact groups as you like.
Q : How do I add existing contacts to groups?
1. Click on the Contact Groups link on the left menu to display the Manage Contact Groups Page. It displays the list of groups present.
2. Click on the Edit button next to the group to be edited.
3. Click on Add from contacts button to display all the contacts present in your address book.
4. Select the contacts to be added by clicking the check box and Click on Add checked contacts to add it to group.
Q : Can one contact be present in different groups?
A : Yes, one contact can be present in more than one group. Also, changes to the original contact do not affect the copy of the contact in the new group.
Q : How do I add bulk contacts to groups?
1. You can add bulk contacts to groups using either CSV files, or text files. MS-Excel files need to be converted to CSV before upload.
For more details, refer to the section 'Uploading Recipient Lists'.
Q: Can I test whether my contacts are valid phone numbers before sending them?
A: The Numerator feature allows you to clean your contact group or address book, separating them into valid and invalid contacts. For more details, refer to the section on Numerator.
Multiple logins
Q: Can multiple users use the site?
A: Yes, and each user can have his own login with independent username and password.
To create additional users, select 'My Account - Corporator', and use this section to add logins for other users in your organization. Each login's rights can also be restricted here.
Note that the account's credits and account-level settings will be common to all logins in that account.
If you are unable to access this section, ensure that you have the rights to do so. The Primary User - the first login created alongwith the account - will possess all the rights in the account.
Reports
Q: How can I ascertain the amount of usage in my account, when, and by whom?
A: Several reports are present in your account, accessible by selecting 'My account' from the left menu.
Summary Report of Messaging Usage: This section contains reports that detail the number and price of messages used in the account, separated by login, date or messaging route.
Summary Report of Numerator Usage: This section contains reports that detail the numerator usage in your account, separated by login and date.
Messaging Volume History Report: This report displays your account's messaging usage over the past 30 days. This is used to calculate the messaging discounts that are applicable to your account.
Currencies
Q: Can I see my credit amounts in my own currency?
A: You can change your currency display preference by selecting My Account - Edit your Preferences, and selecting the currency from the 'Display Currency Preference'. If your currency is not present, it is recommended that you select 'Euro'.
Note that all rates and credits are stored on the system in Euros, and so the amounts may fluctuate based on fluctuations between your chosen display currency and the Euro. If you wish to accurately track your usage without any currency fluctuations, select Euro as your display currency.
Time zones
Q: My scheduled messages are not being sent at the time I have specified.
A: Your time zone settings may not be valid. Select My Account - Edit your Preferences, and choose your time zone.
All times displayed in the system will be displayed as per your time zone choice here. Test accounts
Q: A warning 'This account is a test account' is displayed on my home page.
A: The site provides customers with protection by preventing the site's administrators from deleting account and manipulating credits. A test account is one where, due to its test nature, such protection is not present.
To enable this protection, contact support. They will be able to convert your test account to a final account. The warning message is not displayed on final accounts. Converting a test account to a final account also does not incur any charges.
It is unwise to purchase a large number of credits if your account is a test account.
Note that a final account cannot be converted back to a test account.
Numerator
Q: What is the Numerator?
A: The numerator is a feature which allows you to verify the validity of recipient phone numbers before you perform campaigns.
The numerator will separate any list you provide into the following sets:
Valid numbers: These phone numbers are valid, ie, the SIM cards have valid accounts, and it is highly likely that delivery of messages to these numbers will be successful. Note that delivery of messages may still fail in certain rare circumstances, for example, due to a full inbox on the handset.
Invalid numbers: These phone numbers are invalid, ie, they have never been issued to any customer, or their SIM cards have been closed or suspended. It is highly recommended that you do not send messages to these phone numbers, since they will not be delivered, but messages sent to them will still be billed to your account.
Unknown: The validity of these recipients is unknown. Since they may be valid, you may perform campaigns to these recipients.
Out of Coverage: The Numerator is unable to check for validity of phone numbers on the network that this number resides in.
Note that running the Numerator incurs additional charges based on the number of recipients checked. Numerator charges will not be charged only for recipients resulting in the 'Out of Coverage' result.
Numerator Pricing
Q: How much does the Numerator cost?
A: The Numerator's tariffs can be determined by clicking on the 'Tariffs' link on the left menu. Note that Numerator prices are not dependent on the country/network of the recipient number. Numerator Coverage
Q: Which countries/networks are covered by the Numerator?
A: The numerator's coverage list can be found by selecting 'Numerator' on the left menu, then selecting Numerator Coverage Zone.