Working with short codes and long codes

Waterfall supports both short codes and long codes, also referred to as originator codes, to send text messages:

Short codes are 5- and 6-digit phone numbers that were first implemented by the wireless industry to support business and organization text messaging. Short codes are the gold standard for deliverability, send speed, and compliance.
Long codes are 10-digit phone numbers (10DLC) that were implemented to provide service for lower-cost, lower-volume text campaigns.

Note: Waterfall (UK) also supports an alphanumeric sender ID, which adds your company's brand name to the messages you send. Your brand name may be up to 20 characters, including the following special characters: @ (at) . (period) - (hyphen) & (ampersand) + (plus) and <space>. To set up an alphanumeric sender ID, work with your customer success manager or Technical Support.

To help you determine whether to use short code or long code number(s) for your text message campaign, here is a comparison chart:

Dedicated short codes	10DLC long codes
Designed for business/organization text This 5- or 6-digit number is used to send text messages from businesses or organizations to many recipients.	Designed for business/organization voice and text This 10-digit number is used to send text messages from businesses or organizations to many recipients.
High throughput and fastest send times Wireless carriers dedicate more and wider "lanes" of traffic to support short code messaging. Rates are determined through agreements between the carriers and providers and can range from hundreds of messages per second up to thousands of messages per second. There are no volume caps.	Variable throughput and variable send times A company or organization is assigned a "trust score" based on the its size, industry, and messaging use case(s). Rate and volume caps vary and are determined by the carriers. A good estimation/expectation is 30 messages per second.
Sanctioned Messages are regulated and approved by the carriers and trusted by recipients. They are reliable, secure, and the gold standard for text messaging from companies or organizations to individuals.	Sanctioned The 10DLC registration process and fee structure was created to confirm that long code messages are being sent from verified companies or organizations for legitimate purposes.
Full Metrics Delivery confirmation/receipts make it easy to track the number of messages received, giving companies and organizations better insight into the reach of their messaging program(s) and the ability to optimize campaigns (when combined with other messaging data).	Simple Metrics While 10DLC does not offer delivery confirmation/receipts, reporting within Waterfall provides other simple metrics.
Recognizable A 5- or 6-digit number is easier for most recipients to remember and associate with your company or organization brand.	Convenient Businesses can convert their existing, local long code number to 10DLC and take advantage of approved messaging along with voice service.
Flexible Both SMS and MMS messaging are fully supported from a company or organization to many recipients.	Limited All major US carriers support SMS. MMS is currently supported on Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T only.
Longer Registration Time The typical time to provision a new dedicated short code is 4 to 6 weeks after documentation is submitted to the carriers.	Shorter Registration Time The estimated time to register campaigns and receive a trust score is one to two weeks.
Recommendation Better for any businesses or organizations that value using a trusted, recognizable number and/or send time-sensitive communications, have a large audience, or send both SMS and MMS messages.	Recommendation Better for any businesses or organizations with lower messaging volume that is not time-sensitive, that would like to associate their business with their local area code, and/or with budget constraints.

Dedicated short codes

10DLC long codes

Designed for business/organization text

This 5- or 6-digit number is used to send text messages from businesses or organizations to many recipients.

Designed for business/organization voice and text

This 10-digit number is used to send text messages from businesses or organizations to many recipients.

High throughput and fastest send times

Wireless carriers dedicate more and wider "lanes" of traffic to support short code messaging. Rates are determined through agreements between the carriers and providers and can range from hundreds of messages per second up to thousands of messages per second. There are no volume caps.

Variable throughput and variable send times

A company or organization is assigned a "trust score" based on the its size, industry, and messaging use case(s). Rate and volume caps vary and are determined by the carriers. A good estimation/expectation is 30 messages per second.

Sanctioned

Messages are regulated and approved by the carriers and trusted by recipients. They are reliable, secure, and the gold standard for text messaging from companies or organizations to individuals.

Sanctioned

The 10DLC registration process and fee structure was created to confirm that long code messages are being sent from verified companies or organizations for legitimate purposes.

Full Metrics

Delivery confirmation/receipts make it easy to track the number of messages received, giving companies and organizations better insight into the reach of their messaging program(s) and the ability to optimize campaigns (when combined with other messaging data).

Simple Metrics

While 10DLC does not offer delivery confirmation/receipts, reporting within Waterfall provides other simple metrics.

Recognizable

A 5- or 6-digit number is easier for most recipients to remember and associate with your company or organization brand.

Convenient

Businesses can convert their existing, local long code number to 10DLC and take advantage of approved messaging along with voice service.

Flexible

Both SMS and MMS messaging are fully supported from a company or organization to many recipients.

Limited

All major US carriers support SMS. MMS is currently supported on Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T only.

Longer Registration Time

The typical time to provision a new dedicated short code is 4 to 6 weeks after documentation is submitted to the carriers.

Shorter Registration Time

The estimated time to register campaigns and receive a trust score is one to two weeks.

Recommendation

Better for any businesses or organizations that value using a trusted, recognizable number and/or send time-sensitive communications, have a large audience, or send both SMS and MMS messages.

Recommendation

Better for any businesses or organizations with lower messaging volume that is not time-sensitive, that would like to associate their business with their local area code, and/or with budget constraints.

Note: To opt in to a text-messaging campaign, mobile users send a unique keyword to the assigned short code or long code and then respond YES to a confirmation message. For more information, see Setting up opt-in messages.