Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Troubleshooting

Unable to send messages in the night

I am unable to send messages after 8:45 PM at night or before 9 AM in the morning. Why?

By default, you are configured a promotional account. As per TRAI regulations, promotional SMS can be delivered only from 9am to 9pm.

Transactional messages such as OTPs and order updates can be delivered 24x7. If you would like to send transactional SMS , contact your account manager or email us at support@smsgatewayhub.com to change your account to a transactional account. Please check if your messages can be qualified as transactional SMS here.

If your business SMS requirements need both promotional and transactional accounts, we can configure both the accounts free of cost for you.

Unable to send messages to DND numbers

I get an error 'Blocked by DND filter' when I try to send a message to my number. My messages are also not being delivered to some of my other contacts. How can I send messages to all the numbers, including the ones in DND category?

By default, you are configured a promotional account. As per TRAI regulations, promotional SMS cannot be delivered to numbers registered in the National Do-Not-Disturb (NDND) registry. SMSGATEWAYHUB ensures you comply with TRAI regulations and automatically scrubs all the DND numbers from your recipients. You will not be charged any SMS credits for these numbers. You can check if a number is registered in DND here.

• If you would like to send promotional SMS to your contacts with DND numbers, please ask them to explicitly opt-in via myDND manager.
• Transactional messages such as OTPs and order alerts can be sent to all numbers, including the ones registered in DND. If your messages are transactional in nature, contact your account manager or email us at support@smsgatewayhub.com to change your account to a transactional account. Please check if your messages can be qualified as transactional SMS here.

If your business SMS requirements need both promotional and transactional accounts, we can configure both the accounts free of cost for you.

Test messages are getting delivered with a delay

I just signed up with SMSGATEWAYHUB and sent a few test messages. It took almost 3-4 minutes to deliver some of the messages. How can I get better delivery speeds?

SMSGATEWAYHUB provides best-in-class SMS delivery for both transactional SMS and promotional bulk SMS, thanks to our platinum operator connectivity. However, we manually monitor your first few messages for spam and this will likely result in a small delay. Our team continuously monitors your account activity and after a few checks, automatically removes this manual monitoring to ensure your messages are delivered instantly.

If you would still like to test the delivery speed, we can temporarily remove manual moderation for your account. Please contact us at support@smsgatewayhub.com.

Unable to send message to my own number

My number is registered in DND. But I still get many messages from my bank, online shopping websites, restaurants etc. Then why cannot I send message from SMSGATEWAYHUB to my own mobile number?

By default, you are configured a promotional account. As per TRAI regulations, promotional SMS cannot be delivered to numbers registered in the National Do-Not-Disturb (NDND) registry.

You can send messages to DND numbers only if your account is transactional and the recipient of those messages is registered to your company/services and has opted in to receive SMS from you – just like you are registered to your bank or online shopping website where you have provided your contact details and agreed to their terms. To know more about transactional route and its regulations please click here.

'Error Code 7: Invalid Login' while using SMSGATEWAYHUB API

When I try to send SMS using SMSGATEWAYHUB API, I receive an error message saying "Error code 7: Invalid login". What am I doing wrong?

Error code 7: Invalid login is thrown when one of your login parameters is incorrect. The login parameters include 'username' and 'password' or 'apikey'. Here are a few quick checkpoints to identify the problem:

• Incorrect URL? Please make sure you call https://www.smsgatewayhub.com/
• Incorrect 'username'? Please check if you correctly entered your registered login ID of SMSGATEWAYHUB in the 'username' field.
• Incorrect 'apikey'? You can check your API key at our panel -> API Documents -> API Codes -> My API Key. The API key entered in 'apikey' parameter should match one of the active API keys in your list and if that particular API key.

If the error still persists, please contact support@smsgatewayhub.com.

'Error code 006: Invalid Template' while using SMSGATEWAYHUB API

I converted my account to Transactional and now, when I try to send an SMS using SMSGATEWAYHUB API, I receive an error "Error code 006: Invalid Template". How can I correct it?

From a transactional account, you can send only those messages that match one of your pre-approved templates. Please ensure that your messages match one of the approved template formats.

If you would like to add a new template to suit your SMS content, login to your account, select Text SMS -> Templates -> My Templates -> Add New Template and submit it for review. Once your template is approved, you can start sending messages based on that template. Get detailed information on how to add templates and send messages via API.

If your error still persists, please contact support@smsgatewayhub.com.

Messages not getting delivered with the desired sender name

I want my messages to be delivered with my company name as the header. How can I set this in my SMSGATEWAYHUB Messenger account?

or

I want my messages to be delivered with my company name as the header. But, when I mention my company name as the 'sender' parameter in SMSGATEWAYHUB API, the API response is "Error code 15: Invalid sender id". What am I doing wrong?

By default, you are configured a promotional account. As per TRAI regulations, promotional SMS will delivered with a random 6-digit sender ID assigned by the operator.

Transactional messages such as OTPs and order updates can be delivered with a 6-alpha character Sender ID of your choice. If you would like to send transactional SMS, contact your account manager or email us at support@smsgatewayhub.com to change your account to a transactional account. Please check if your messages can be qualified as transactional SMS here.

For SMSGATEWAYHUB control panel users:

The option to choose and assign a Sender ID will be available on the Send screen once your account is upgraded to a transactional account.

For SMSGATEWAYHUB API users:

This is an error response when incorrect value is passed on to 'sender' parameter.

• If your account is promotional, please ensure the 'sender' parameter is mentioned only as SMSHUB – this will be changed to the random 6-digit Sender ID at the time of delivery. Changing this will lead to an error response.
• If your account has been converted to transactional, you can use one of the pre-approved sender IDs which are already added in your account.

Unable to upload excel file while adding contacts

When I upload an excel file to a contact group in Messenger, I receive an error – 'Nothing has been imported. Either there is no new data to import, or you have selected the wrong column headings.' Where am I going wrong?

This error might be observed due to one of the following reasons:

• Special characters or spaces in the mobile numbers column. Please clean the data and try uploading again.
• If your excel file has additional merge fields (i.e. custom parameters along with mobile numbers), there might be a problem with the column headings. Ensure that the column with mobile numbers is correctly assigned the 'number' field.
• If your excel file has column headings, please uncheck the header name from SMSGATEWAYHUB Messenger before clicking on 'import' button.

If the error still persists, reach out to us at support@smsgatewayhub.com

General Questions

What is SMS?

SMS stands for Short Message Service, and refers to the sending of short text messages from one device to another; in most cases from one mobile phone to another. The size of an SMS text message is restricted to 160 characters.

What is a Multipart / Concatenated SMS?

A standard text message is 160 characters long. If your message exceeds the limit, an alert is shown on the screen allowing to continue typing the message beyond the character limit. This message will count for 2 or more SMS Credits (depending on the length of your message) and you will be charged correspondingly. Special such as ~, ^, {, }, [, ], |, will constitute two characters.

Messenger allows you to send longer SMS of upto 1000 characters which are split into smaller SMS and later joined at the receiving end which is a mobile. In this scenario, SMS length is calculated for 153 characters as 7 characters are used to concatenate the message when it is delivered to the handset.

What is an SMS gateway?

An SMS gateway is the means through which a computer can send or receive SMS messages. Often allowing for the conversion and sending of other forms of media or message (such as email), SMS gateways will generally utilise the same mobile phone networks as the messages sent from mobile phones.

Are there any contracts or commitments with Messenger?

There are no contracts involved in running a Messenger account - it all works on a pay as you go basis, so you can send text messages with no hassle. If you purchase any inbound systems they have a minimum term of one month which is renewable.

Who can use SMSGATEWAYHUB services?

Any Indian business, society or community group can use SMSGATEWAYHUB to reach out to customers, staff or friends with SMS, instantly connecting to people where ever they are. With different levels of service, there's something to suit an organisation regardless of size. SMSGATEWAYHUB offers unbeatable prices, with packages starting from Rs 250 for 1000 messages, there's also excellent support with passionate experts here to help.

How long does the service take to set up?

Your SMS marketing campaigns can be up and running within minutes.

Do I need a mobile phone?

You do not need a mobile phone to use messenger; messages are sent and received from Messenger. It is all web based so you do not need to download anything. All you need is an internet enabled PC, Mac or Tablet. Our Website is mobile friendly you can use it on your phone and also download your android app.

Can I purchase credits online in SMSGATEWAYHUB? If yes, how?

Yes, you can purchase credits online in SMSGATEWAYHUB. Please follow the steps listed below:

• Log in to your account.
• Click on the Buy Now Option avialable in top header.
• Choose Your SMS Package & Pay Online.
• After Pay your credits will be added into your account.

You can face any issue please mail : support@smsgatewayhub.com.

How can I send SMS messages online?

It's essentially the same process that you would go through when sending an SMS on your phone, in this case it's just that you'd do it on your computer. With SMSGATEWAYHUB Messenger, it's as simple as typing in your message, selecting the number you wish to send to, and pressing send. Job done.

How can I receive SMS messages online?

You will need to have a short code or a long code or a keyword to be able to receive SMS online. These are also called Virtual Mobile Numbers (VMNs). You can find more information on various options for receiving SMS here. All the messages sent to these short/long codes will be received in separate inboxes which can be accessed in your SMSGATEWAYHUB account.

How much does it cost to send a message?

The cost depends on how many credits you want to buy; one credit equals one SMS message (i.e., 160 characters) and the credits last indefinitely. The cost of our credit bundles can be found on our prices page.

Will my credits expire?

Your credits will never expire.

How many characters can I send in a message?

You can send up to 1000 characters in a message. Here, we refer to standard Latin symbols (ASCII) and not special or Unicode characters. Messenger displays clearly when composing your message as to how many characters you have used and how many credits your text will use up so you can edit the message accordingly.

What is length of an SMS and what is the relation between message length and credits?

The standard length of SMS is 160 characters in Latin symbols (ASCII). It also varies depending on the message type, especially if it is a Unicode message or if the message uses any special characters.

A message with up to 160 characters uses up one SMS credit. If the message is more than 160 characters, one credit is used up for 153 characters as the remaining 7 characters are used to concatenate the message when it is delivered to the handset. So, one SMS credit is used up for a maximum of 160 characters, 2 credits are used up for 161-306 characters (=153*2) and so on. You can send messages up to 1000 characters and this long message.

How long does it take for SMSGATEWAYHUB team to convert my account to Transactional?

Once you upload all the required documents duly signed, SMSGATEWAYHUB support team will convert your account to transactional within 12 business hours. As soon as your account is converted, you will receive a notification over email from our support team.

I have uploaded the Transactional documents in the messenger. Do I need to send the hard copies as well?

No. Although we'll convert your account to transactional on receiving the soft copies on support@smsgatewayhub.com in PDF and JPG Format.

Call : +91-9907922122
Email : support@smsgatewayhub.com.

Can I have more than one sender ID approved for my transactional account? Are there any additional charges?

You can have multiple sender ID approved in your transactional account and there is no additional charge for this. We only need a signed consent letter printed on your company letterhead clearly mentioning the sender ID to get it approved from the operator.

I have received a confirmation from SMSGATEWAYHUB support team that my account has been converted to transactional. What should I do next?

Once your account has been converted to transactional – the first thing you need to do is create your SMS templates. Once you add your template, our support team will check the content and approve the template. Remember transactional route is template restricted, hence you will only be allowed to send messages which match your approved templates. To know more about how to create templates, please refer our Step-by-step template guide.

How long does it take for the SMSGATEWAYHUB support team to approve the templates?

Templates are approved within 2 business hours during Monday – Saturday (9 AM – 6 PM) except on national holidays and major festivals. Having said that, if you need your templates to be approved urgently – you can always mail us at support@smsgatewayhub.com.

I have a transactional account with SMSGATEWAYHUB. Now I want to do promotional campaigns for my product launch. Do I have to create a new account and purchase credits again?

No, you can't transfer transaction credit to promotional credits as we provide unlimited validity but you can purchase promotional credits in the same account, you donot need to creat seprate accoutn for that.

Can I send SMS in Regional Languages?

Yes, SMSGATEWAYHUB supports Unicode messages which will enable you to send SMS in Indian languages. Our transliteration tool will help you easily and quickly draft texts in local languages. On messenger we support most of the popular languages in India which include: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu.

What is a Unicode message and why is it used?

Standard SMS sent using the GSM 3.38 character set allows the sending of 160 characters for a single message, and multiples of 153 for longer messages. The character set only allows those characters to be sent, and anything outside of it is changed – for instance í (that's i-acute) gets changed to an i.

Unicode allows the support of a much wider character set, and actually includes pretty much every character in the world, including Indian languages, some of the stranger European characters (like í), all the Cyrillic alphabets (e.g. Arabic, Russia, Punjabi and Greek), all the Asian ones (Chinese, Japanese etc), and also some of the emoticons out there! Basically, every single character you can think of.

An example Hindi Unicode message is : आप अपनी भाषा में सन्देश भेज सकते है ?

What are the differences between Unicode and GSM?

Firstly, the standard length of a Unicode message is 70 characters (compared to 160 for GSM). Long messages are supported for Unicode messages as well, and they are in multiples of 67 (compared to 153 for GSM). So a double length Unicode message can be up to 134 characters, triple 201 etc.

Messages are priced the same way i.e., 1 credit is used up for 1 message (up to 70 Unicode characters), 2 credits are used up for double-length Unicode message (up to 134 characters) and so on.
You can send upto 1000 characters in GSM and 500 characters in unicode.

Why are my messages using up two credits?

A message will use over one credit if you do either of the following:

• You are using over 160 characters per message.
• You are using over 70 characters in a Unicode message.
• You have merged data into your message which is increasing the characters.

I have sent a message to some numbers. How do I check if the message has been delivered?

SMSGATEWAYHUB provides real time delivery reports of the all the messages sent. You can access the status of each message in the Reports section in Messenger. The report is further divided by channels (Group message, single message, API, email 2 SMS). Depending on the channel used to send messages, you can check the reports in the respective section. Here is a quick reference of the report status and few possible reasons.

Status	Description
Delivered	Message is delivered and received on mobile.
Expired	Out of coverage area, Switched off, Tower station Failure, Not available for certain period of retrial time.
Undelivered	Absent Subscriber, Memory Capacity Exceeded, Handset busy, Mobile Equipment Error, Network Error, Barring.
Sent	Submit to server and Under Retrial mode and waiting for the final acknowledgement.
Rejected	Invalid Number, sender id blocked / generic as per TRAI Norms, Spam Content
NDNC	Number is registered under national do not call and it shows only at promotional route.
Blacklisted	Blacklisted or blocked numbers are those which are restricted from receiving any SMS sent by the user.

Does SMSGATEWAYHUB provide data?

We do not provide data, however we do offer short codes and long codes which are extremely effective in collecting opt-in numbers from your customers and can be used alongside any text marketing activity.

How secure is my data?

Your data is completely safe. SMSGATEWAYHUB does not share or pass on any of your data, including the mobile numbers you upload. Your data will only be used for your SMS marketing. For further information see our SLA. SMSGATEWAYHUB provide a secure 128-bit encrypted service which is equivalent to online banking security.

Can I import data into my Messenger?

You can import mobile numbers from an excel sheet or a CSV file. You can upload your mobile numbers along with five fields of information with just a few clicks of a button. You can also enter your numbers individually or by copying and pasting if you have smaller volumes.

Can I merge data into my messages? (Or) Can I personalize my message?

Yes, you can easily merge custom data and personalize your message by having custom fields for each contact. You can input these custom fields manually or you can include these custom fields against each number in an excel spreadsheet and upload it. While composing the message, just click on 'Insert merge fields' and select the custom field in all the places where you want to personalize. SMSGATEWAYHUB will automatically sends out personalized messages with custom fields to all your contacts.

What is an API key? Where do I find my API Key?

API key is the encrypted form of your password. This is unique for every user in SMSGATEWAYHUB. You will need to pass the correct hash key to integrate your application with our API.

The unique API key for your account will be available in the SMS panel under API Documents > API Codes.

I am having a reseller whitelabelled account with SMSGATEWAYHUB. Where do I find the API key for my sub accounts?

Since you are a whitelabelled reseller, your sub accounts will not have the help section to check their API Key. However you can check the unique key for all your users from API Documents > API Codes.

Can I send messages outside India?

You cannot send messages to mobile numbers registered outside India.

However, messages can still be delivered to mobile numbers registered in India, even when the subscriber is on international roaming.

Can people text in to my Short Code from outside India?

Only subscribers registered with Indian mobile networks can send texts to Indian short codes.

Our Dedicated Inbound Numbers (DINs or long codes), however, can receive texts from any mobile numbers – Indian or international. The cost to the sender will be their standard network rate.

Can people text in to my long code from outside India?

Subscribers registered on any network (international or Indian) can text in to a DIN / long code, since a DIN / long code uses the country code.

However, a short code is local to the country in which it is issued and only phones registered within that country's network can text into it.

How are my customers charged for texting in to my short codes and long codes?

In India, a premium rate of Rs. 3 is charged for sending SMS to a short code and its extensions (5-9 digits).

SMS to a long code (10 digit number) is treated as a standard P2P SMS and the end customer is charged as per his/her SMS plan.

Why do numbers look like 4.47741E+12 when I export to Excel?

This is because Excel thinks your mobile number is a long number so has converted it into scientific notation. To fix this click on the column header, click Format Cells->As Number->0 decimal places.

How long do messages stay in my inbox for?

Inbound messages are stored forever in your SMSGATEWAYHUB Messenger account. You can easily export these to an excel file for your own records.

Can the sender name be my business name, rather than a random number?

Yes. If you have a transactional account, you can request for a Sender ID of your choice at no extra cost. The Sender ID must be 6 character long with all Latin alphabets. Sender IDs are a great way to enhance awareness of your business and conduct professional communication.

Promotional messages are sent from a 6-character long, numeric Sender ID that's randomly generated and assigned by telecom operators.

You can read about all the differences between promotional and transactional SMS here.

How can customers reply to my messages?

Your customers cannot directly reply to your Promotional/Transactional SMS as they are sent from a Sender ID. However, you can embed your inbox information (Keyword + short code / long code) in your messages and your customers can use these to reach out to you.

Can I schedule messages to be sent at a later date?

Yes, it's easy to schedule your messages for delivery at a later date & time. Choose to schedule them to be sent only after specific times and dates. You can also set an end date for your message to expire, to prevent it from being sent out after a specified date. Staggering messages is also possible; to allow time to handle responses instead of being overwhelmed by many all in one go. If you need to change the time and date of the scheduled SMS, you can do so via the reports section of Messenger.

What business sectors can benefit from mobile marketing?

SMS is a universal tool. Whether being used purely for sales and marketing or for transactional alerts, SMS can fit into any application and sector. Please refer to our case studies for more information.

Does the size of my business affect the success of SMS?

No, smaller campaigns work as well as the larger campaigns, as long as you have an opt-in database of your contacts and you send relevant messaging to them.

How can local businesses get greater benefits from SMS marketing?

Local businesses can benefit from being able to instantly communicate to hundreds or thousands of people about your latest offers & promotions. Messages are instantly delivered typically within 5 seconds and read by 95% of those customers within the first 5 seconds. That's guaranteed communication within 10 seconds of sending a message!

Send Bulk SMS

How does bulk SMS messaging work?

Bulk SMS messaging works in exactly the same way as sending a text message online (as detailed in the previous entry), except on a larger scale. Rather than sending a message to one recipient, you would send your SMS message to a group of recipients utilising the functionality of a bulk SMS service, like our proprietary SMSGATEWAYHUB Message service.

How do I send bulk SMS messages for my business?

Our system is extremely easy to use. Once you have amassed a list of customer phone numbers, they are uploaded to your SMSGATEWAYHUB account. The next step is to obtain consent, from the owners of those numbers, to receive additional communications from your business. Once customers have begun to opt in to receive messages, and you have purchased a message bundle from us, simply login to your SMSGATEWAYHUB account, enter a message, and select the individual customers, or customer groups that you want to receive the message. Click send, and you're done!

How can businesses buy bulk SMS messages?

Simple, sign up for an account for your business with SMSGATEWAYHUB and either directly buy message bundles from your account or request an invoice directly from us.

How much does bulk SMS cost?

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that our service presents superb value for money to our customers; as such, our service and software are free, you simply pay for the texts that you send.

For extra convenience, we sell our messages in bundles; the smaller bundles offer a price of Rs 0.23 per text. However, the bigger the bundle, the better the value; if you were to purchase a 1,00,000 message bundle (for Rs 15,340), you'd be charged a rate of Rs 0.13 per message. Don't forget, we'll match or beat any competitor's price.

For sales enquiry, please call us on +91-9907922122 or email us at support@smsgatewayhub.com and we will get back to you.

How long does it take to send sms in bulk?

There is no set time of how long it takes to send bulk SMS messages, you set the sending activity to send immediately or schedule it to be sent at a later point in time.

Are there SMS packages for bulk text that reduce my costs?

Yes there are, the more messages you buy the cheaper it gets. To see a list of our bulk SMS prices, please click here.

What support do I get for creating and running my bulk marketing campaigns?

Using our award winning Platform sending messages is a breeze, however if you would like help managing or sending your bulk SMS campaigns, then please consider using our Agency Services or contact our friendly support team for help.

Can I integrate the SMSGATEWAYHUB Bulk SMS gateway into my application?

Yes, our SMS gateway can be used reliably from any email software, server or CRM application. Access to the gateway is free and allows the user to send an SMS to an unlimited number of recipients. Simply sign up for a free account, enable SMS to your account and send the messages as emails to support@smsgatewayhub.com. Full information can be found here.

Can I sign up for a free trial?

You can sign up for a free trial in just 30 seconds, with no credit card required. Simply enter your email address to get started and get 20 free texts. Our platform is free to sign up and if you decide you like us after the free trial, you just pay for the texts you send.

TRAI Regulations

What is DND?

DND is a national 'Do Not Disturb' registry put into effect by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) to effectively regulate unsolicited commercial calls and messages. Telecom subscribers who do not wish to receive any promotional messages or calls can register to DND. The registration will be effective within 7 days of placing the request with the service provider.

Note: Transactional messages can be sent even if the subscriber is registered to DND. These messages are solicited by the end user and do not contain any promotion, advertising or marketing information.

What are TRAI's "Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations"?

Low tariffs and direct reach to consumers has made SMS one of the most cost effective ways of selling services and products. However, telemarketing has brought with it serious issues of invasion of privacy and has become a major irritant to customers. To regulate unsolicited commercial calls and messages, TRAI has notified "The Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2010". All the provisions of regulations came into effect from 27th September, 2011.

The complete guidelines can be accessed in the TRAI portal.

We, at SMSGATEWAYHUB, take subscribers' privacy preferences very seriously. We enforce the prescribed regulatory guidelines across our platform to ensure all criteria are met throughout the customer lifecycle starting with account setup to daily ongoing operations. Our dedicated service, support team along with our account managers ensure timely approvals of appropriate messaging content, without affecting your communication needs.

What is meant by commercial communication?

"Commercial Communication" means any message, voice or SMS, made through telecommunications service, which is transmitted for the purpose of informing about, or soliciting or promoting any commercial transaction in relation to goods, investment or services.

What is Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC)?

Any commercial communication which a subscriber opts not to receive except :

• Any transactional message; or
• Any message transmitted on the directions of central government or state government or agencies authorized by it.

What is the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR)?

National Customer Preference Register is a national data base containing a list of the telephone numbers of all subscribers who have registered their preferences regarding receipt of commercial communications.

What is the difference between Promotional SMS and Transactional SMS?

TRAI has notified "The Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2010" classifying text messages as per the intent or nature of content within the text messages as summarized below :

Promotional Messages :

• Messages which are sent with the objective of promoting products or services are considered as promotional messages.
• This category includes all sales and marketing messages which may or may not be desired by the recipient.
• These messages do not get delivered to DND (Do Not Disturb) registered numbers.
• Promotional messages can be sent only from 9am to 9pm.
• Promotional messages are assigned a random numeric sender ID.

Transactional Messages :

• Messages which communicate details about a direct transaction done by your customers on a service or product and are solicited by the end user or customer.
• Service messages like bank alerts, railway/airline/bus ticket booking or reservations details.
• Information sent by e-commerce agencies in response to e-commerce transactions made by their customers.
• There is no time constraint in sending transactional messages.
• Transactional messages can only be sent from accounts set as transactional accounts which are assigned pre-screened 'sender names'. The 'sender name' is of 6-characters with all Latin alphabets.

Note : Please get your account upgraded if your communication needs are transactional in nature. Please write to us at support@smsgatewayhub.com or call us at +91-9907922122 we will guide you through the process.

However, you will need to be a registered business to be able to send transactional messages with a Sender ID.

What is fully blocked category and partially blocked category?

Subscribers who have registered with the national DND registry to not receive any Promotional / commercial SMS belong to a fully blocked category.

Subscribers who have registered with the national DND registry to not receive commercial SMS, except from any one or more of the below categories belong to a partially blocked category. Mobile subscribers can register with NDNC opting in to receive Promotional messages in one or more of the following categories:

• Banking / Insurance / Financial products / credit cards
• Real Estate
• Education
• Health
• Consumer goods and automobiles
• Communication/Broadcasting/Entertainment/IT
• Tourism and Leisure

What is the procedure for my customers (subscribers) to register in NCPR?

You customers can register their preference(s) in NCPR by dialing 1909 or by sending SMS to 1909. For detailed procedure visit the TRAI's NCCP website.

Do I need to submit any documents for sending Bulk SMS using SMSGATEWAYHUB?

No, documents are not required for sending Promotional messages. You can sign up for your free account today and start sending messages.

If you need help at any stage, please write to us at support@smsgatewayhub.com or call us at +91-9907922122 and we will guide you through the process.

Do I need to filter DND registered numbers before sending messages?

No, SMSGATEWAYHUB messenger does this for you. Our online DND scrubbing mechanism removes all DND registered subscribers in the background depending on your account type (Promotional or Transactional) and the nature of communication. We also account for subscribers registered with the DND registry under partially blocked categories and those subscribers will continue to receive messages in their opted-in categories.

Can I send Promotional messages to subscribers registered in DND who opted in to receive messages from a particular category?

Yes, if the subscribers in your target group have opted in to receive messages from the same partially blocked category as your business, messages are processed for delivery to these subscribers.

Can I send messages throughout the day?

As per TRAI's TCCCP regulation, Promotional messages can be sent only from 9am to 9pm. Messages sent outside this time window will fail.

However, if you have a transactional account, you can send messages at any time of the day. Please note that these messages need to be transactional in nature.

What happens when a customer complains when she receives a Transactional SMS?

We suggest you to maintain an opt-in database of your end customers and send transactional SMS only to them. To nullify the complaint raised by your customer, an explicit opt-in proof must be provided.

Can I schedule and send campaigns to my subscribers when a DND violation is under process?

No, your account will be blocked till the DND complaint is nullified. This is to ensure that the same subscriber or other subscribers do not receive any other unsolicited communication from you.

How do I request for a Transactional account?

Customers who wish to send end-user-solicited, Transactional messages can request for a Transactional Account.

Please write to us at support@smsgatewayhub.com or call us at +91-9907922122 we will guide you through the process.

As part of the process, you need to send below signed scanned documents which will be shared with you when you contact us –

• Undertaking of Indemnity of TRAI compliance
• Letter of consent

As part of the Transactional account setup process, you also need to get your Sender ID and message templates approved – you can directly request for these from your SMSGATEWAYHUB Messenger account.

Are there any restrictions on my Transactional account?

A Transactional account allows you to send Transactional messages to any mobile phone at any time of the day. Further, these messages are sent from a Sender ID of your choice to make the communication more professional and easily identifiable.

To comply with the TRAI's TCCCP regulation we allow you to send Transactional SMS only through pre-approved SMS templates. You can request for new template at any point of time directly from your SMSGATEWAYHUB account.

Do additional regulatory rules apply to setup an account to send stock market or trading alerts?

As per the direction from TRAI, SMSGATEWAYHUB customers who wish to send stock market and trading alerts are required to register with SEBI / IRDA / AMFI / NCDEX / MCX. The respective registration document should be provided to us after you sign up with SMSGATEWAYHUB. The applicable TRAI mandate can be accessed here.

SMS Attachments

What is an attachment?

An attachment is an additional file you can send as a link in a text message.

How do I attach a document to an SMS message?

Within the Messenger interface, select the file that you wish to attach in the same way that you would when composing an email. Messenger will convert the file into an easily accessible link within the body of the text message. The file will be hosted securely on our servers. If the document that you wish to attach is smaller than 2 MB in file size, you're good to go. So attaching a file to an SMS message is not only easy, but requires zero IT infrastructure on your end.

When on the 'Send SMS' screen, click to include attachment and we will host it online for you and add the short link in your text message.

How much does it cost to send an attachment?

There is no extra cost to include in attachment to your text message.

What is the maximum file size I can attach?

2 MB

Will the end user be charged to download the attachment?

The end user incurs no cost to access files hosted on SMSGATEWAYHUB, apart from the usual data charges paid towards the telecom operators.

What are the different supported file types for an attachment?

We support over 35 popular file formats including - AVI, BMP, CSV, DOC, DOCX, DOTX, GIF, JPG, MIDI, MPEG, MOV, MP3, MP4, OGG, PDF, PNG, POTX, PPSX, PPT, PPTX, QT, RA, RAM, TRF, SLDX, SVG, SWF, TIFF, TSV, TXT, VCF, WAV, XLAM, XLS, XLSB, XLSX & XLTX.

Will I know who has clicked my attachments?

Yes, you can track the short link which is sent as an attachment. All the results are tracked and updated real time including mobile number, date/time, mobile device, mobile browser and custom fields.

Receive SMS

Can I receive replies?

Yes you can. You can use your free inbox to receive replies, or setup a new inbox by purchasing a reply number of your choice. A reply number is categorized by the length of the reply number which may be a short code (reply numbers with 6 to 9 digit number extensions on 56161) or a 10 digit virtual mobile number (VMN / DIN). You may setup as many keyword – inboxes as you wish with dedicated reply numbers, where as a shared reply number allows you to setup one inbox on the keyword you have choosen.

How can I receive text messages online?

Using an inbound text number or short code, you can receive text messages from your customers at no extra cost. It's free for you to receive the message and only costs the customer their standard network cost. All messages will appear in your Messenger account, so simply log in and view at your leisure. You can also choose to automatically forward all inbound messages to you via email for free.

Short codes will only work from handsets registered in the same country as the code, as there is no country code on the number. Our 56161 short code and its extensions work only in India. There are additional options to personalise keywords and Short Codes For more info on Short Codes, see the page on receiving SMS.

How do I see my received messages?

All the messages you receive online will appear in your SMSGATEWAYHUB inbox. This inbox works just like your email inbox.

What is the cost of receiving replies?

It costs you absolutely nothing to receive a reply however the sender will be charged at their standard network rate.

What is a keyword?

A keyword is a requirement when using any kind of shared number. The message must start with the keyword so the SMSGATEWAYHUB system can direct the message to relevant person's inbox. Try and keep your keyword as simple as possible to avoid mistakes.

What is a mobile marketing short code?

A short code is essentially an abbreviated phone number, and in the context of mobile marketing, these allow for consumers who have received a marketing message to easily respond. As well as allowing for easier responses from consumers, the short code system often makes it much easier for an automated mobile marketing programme, like ours, to handle the consumer's reply.

For example, if you were looking to increase the number of recipients of your marketing messages, you could send out a group email with the message "To opt-in to receive further marketing communications send 'OPT-IN' to 00000". In this instance, '00000' is the short code number, which would direct the message to our servers. Upon reading the keyword 'OPT-IN', our software will automatically sort the number that sent the message into your business' opt-in database. This is just one example of the utility of short codes in mobile marketing, but it succinctly illustrates their potential.

SMSGATEWAYHUB owns the short codes 56161 and all its extensions in India.

Does a Dedicated Inbound Number need a keyword?

No one other than you uses your Dedicated Inbound Number so no keyword is required, although you can create keywords within your Messenger for various SMS marketing campaigns if you wish.

Can I receive text messages as an email?

All inbound message sent to Messenger will be automatically forwarded to you via email. You can select up to 20 email addresses for the messages to be forwarded to each live inbox. This is free.

Can you forward a message I receive to my number?

Of course, we can automatically forward inbound messages to your handset. This costs 1 message credit.

SMS API Integration

What is an API?

An API allows the automatic sending of text messages e.g. car insurance renewal reminder texts. SMSGATEWAYHUB API is shared for free of cost which can be integrated with your system to send real time text messages to your customers. Messages can be triggered event based, time based and can be user initiated.

How long does it take to set up?

It only takes 10 minutes to be up and running. See our Developers page to see example documentation and code examples.

How much does it cost to use the API?

The API is FREE to use. You just need to pay for the credits to send the messages.

What is a text marketing API?

API stands for Application Programming Interface. In essence, an API allows for easy communication between two pieces of software; acting as a translator or go-between. In the context of text marketing, an API translates the information that you enter into a text marketing programme into a format appropriate for sending over a mobile phone network, or vice versa.

Email To SMS

What is Email to SMS?

Email to SMS is a built in feature of Messenger which allows you to send and receive SMS from your Email application.

How can I send SMS messages from an email service?

Utilise our email to SMS gateway; it's exceptionally easy to use. Once you or your business have an account on SMSGATEWAYHUB Messenger, simply enable the email to SMS functionality, and address an email to the phone number of the customer that you wish to contact (i.e. 919907922122@e2sms.email). Press send, and you're sorted.

How do I set up Email to SMS?

You can set up your email address, sender names, message length and security in the Email to SMS settings within your settings tab.

What email programme do I need?

Email to SMS works with any email program.

How do I send an Email to SMS?

Simply send an email to 91xxxxxxxxxx@e2sms.email from your registered SMSGATEWAYHUB accounts email address.

How do I stop my email signature being included?

To indicate the end of your message simply include ## and any text following this will not be included.

How much does Email to SMS cost?

Email to SMS costs the same as sending SMS from your Messenger.

Who does the message appear to come from?

You can select what you want the sender name to be by entering this in the subject field in this format: sender=YOURNAME. This is optional; if you choose to not enter anything in here your default sender name will be used.

What address do I send the email to when sending to a group?

Each group created in your Messenger has a group name which can be found in your contact section. To send email to SMS to this group use the address format: groupname@e2sms.email

What address do I send the email to when sending to a single contact?

Use the format 91xxxxxxxxxx@e2sms.email you can add the number in 'to' field and mention your username/loginid in the subject field.

Opt-ins & Opt-outs

Can people opt-out of my SMS Marketing messages?

Yes, people can opt out of your text marketing. Messenger offers multiple ways for your customer to opt-out from receiving any communication from you. You can easily embed any of the following in your text messages:

• By texting your free keyword followed by the word STOP to your shared inbound number that we give you. E.g. if your free inbox keyword was k7db3f, your customers can send k7db3fSTOP to opt-out of all communication from you.
• By texting in the word STOP to your Dedicated Inbound Number. If you have purchased a dedicated number from SMSGATEWAYHUB (Either a short code / long code) your customers can easily opt-out of all communication from you by texting the word STOP to any of your dedicated numbers.
• By texting your keyword followed by STOP to your shared short code or long number. You can simply instruct your customers to text the word stop after the keyword at no additional cost.
• If you do not require an inbound system, then we can provide you with a specialised opt-out short code for a fixed fee for a year or you can use the free, randomly generated keyword on 9664653344 that is given to you when you open the account.

When one of your users chooses to opt-out of your SMS marketing, their phone number will be automatically removed from all your contact lists and added to your opt-out list. You can view & manage your opt-out list from the contacts > Opt-outs menu in your messenger account. This opt-out list can be exported for further use. Messenger will block any messages being sent to these numbers from your account again until the sender chooses to opt back in. If you upload any number in the opt-out list to your contact manager, the system will remove it for you.

What is myDND Manager?

myDND manager is an opt-in solution offered by SMSGATEWAYHUB where subscribers themselves can opt to receive the messages from a particular company/entity. This opt-in can be considered as consent from the subscriber that he/she is willing to receive your messages and therefore, messages to this opt-in list will bypass the DND scrubbing.

How does myDND Manager work?

myDND manager provides an explicit opt-in path for your customers to subscribe to easily for receiving messages from you. The opt-in group properties are seamlessly applied across messenger. Wheter you send your next message via our messenger UI, API or our android app your messages will always reach your opted in customers.

As part of the myDND manager activation process you can choose a dedicated keyword of your choice which is configured on our long code 9664653344. Customers wishing to receive your SMS will need to send the keyword to the long code for opting into the service.

To opt in, subscriber must send START[space]groupname and send to 9664653344

To opt out, subscriber must send STOP[space]groupname and send to 9664653344

Prices and Purchasing

Is Messenger really free to use?

Yes, you simply purchase bulk SMS bundles and send messages to your customers on the go. Apart from this, platform maintenance and training will also be provided for free.

What additional taxes are applicable to me?

All prices on the website exclude tax of 18%, which will be applicable on every purchase.

How can I buy credits?

You can purchase bundles of credits up to 1 million credits online with a credit or debit card. Alternatively, we can invoice you for 25,000 credits or more which you can pay by bank transfer or cheque or DD. The credits will be added upon receipt of payment.

How do I buy a Dedicated Inbound Number or a Short Code?

Any inbound number can be purchased via the Inbox section in Messenger. Click 'Create a new inbox' to proceed.

Am I tied into any contracts?

No, you only pay for the amount of credits you need and inboxes for as long as you require them for.