SMS FAQs

Check our Global Coverage map to see where you can send one-way and two-way messages, and for details about each country.

Regulations and policies vary by country and by mobile operator. See US & Canada Guidelines for more information, but don't hesitate to check with your OpenMarket account manager for information about a specific area.

Factors to consider include the volume of messages you intend to send and receive, the coding languages you're proficient in, and your level of knowledge of SMPP, which is the more complicated of the two technologies. For more information see Getting Started with Global SMS.

With two-way messaging you typically expect the end user to respond to your message. However, due to regulations in the US and Canada, all messages in those countries are considered two-way even if you do not expect the end user to respond. Two-way messaging has other inconsistencies based on country, so it's best to check with your OpenMarket account manager for details. For some additional information see One-way and two-way messaging.

In addition to short codes you can use Virtual Mobile Numbers (VMN) and alphanumeric strings, and for messaging in the US you can also use landlines and text-enabled toll-free numbers. For more information see Getting Started with Global SMS.

You have the option to receive delivery receipts for the messages you send. Not all mobile operators send delivery receipts, but for those that do we can forward those to you.

  • GSM-7
  • UCS-2
  • Extended Latin-9
  • Latin 1

When you send an MT message request, you will receive a response from our system telling you whether we accepted the message. These responses will return the status of the message.

For more information see Getting Started with Global SMS.

When your system submits a send message request to us, your request needs to include the delivery element. That tells our API that you want to receive delivery receipts for that message. For those mobile operators that provide delivery receipts we receive them and send them on to you. We send them to a secure URL that you provide during the setup process.

Yes, our API documentation provides examples of requests to send an MT message, get message status, receive a delivery receipt, and receive an MO message. Our HTTP API supports JSON and XML, and sample requests are provided for both.

See these pages for more information:

Yes! Your OpenMarket account manager will set up your account so you can send messages to our test environment. You can test sending either a short or long (multipart) MT message globally and to the US and Canada, and you can test requesting operator lookup. You can also test retrieving message status. For more information see Getting Started with Global SMS.

Yes. As of May 25, 2018, when the GDPR went into effect, OpenMarket has been in compliance.

Yes. Our SMS service is certified for the ISO 27001 (2013) information security standard.