Pretty recently usshortcodes.com (aka the CSCA) announced a deal where you get 10% off on short codes. Sounds great right? Here are the program details:
Program: If a Customer registers ten (10) or more New Codes during the Program Term, Customer shall receive an account credit in the amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the amount of all new codes registered.
Look CSCA, don’t get me wrong we appreciate the effort but seriously, 10% on 10 short codes? I consider my company to be a pretty well known player in the mobile space, we work with some very large brands and we host lots of short codes on behalf of these brands. The most codes I believe we have ordered at any given time is 2, 3 tops. We help businesses launch their mobile marketing strategies on a daily basis and I have never in 10 years in business been in a situation where we needed to buy 10 codes at the same time. Not every business needs or can afford a short code. We do mobile deals all day long and not that we are not good at sales, but bringing on 10 clients at the same time, that all need short codes might be a record for a mobile marketing company. I am just saying… Now mobileStorm doesn’t play in the premium SMS space, so maybe this is a vertical where someone wants 10 codes at once? A huge brand like Coke only has one code (at least that’s whats listed in the directory). Could a major brand like Coke need 10 codes? Ok how about an aggreagtor? I mean they need codes for testing right? But every aggregator I have worked with only offers one or two codes, and we are talking about the Tier 1 guys.
I need some help here because everyone I have talked to would love a discount (Lord knows short codes aren’t cheap), but how can we get a discount if we need to buy 10 codes? Which by the way equates to $120,000 a year for a vanity code or $60,000 a year for a random code. Hey CSCA, why don’t you lower the bar a bit, so you can really stimulate some business? Why not offer 10% off on any new single code licensed? I just find this odd that you can only get a discount if you spend $60,000 or more. If we truly want mobile marketing to succeed in this country we need to break down some of these cost barriers and let more business start to play. Why are domain names so cheap but short codes so expensive? Is it because there is a limited amount of them? I wrote a whitepaper recently called “The Ultimate Guide to Common Short Codes” that covers a lot of this, feel free to download it here.
Looking forward to hearing what the mobile community has to say about this. Maybe I am out of line, I don’t know…
The reason short codes are so expensive is because a monopoly has authority over them. Keep in mind how many .com, .net, and .org domain registrars there are in existence today. At least several hundred. Short codes? Only one. Honestly, this is one of those few cases where I wish DoJ would intervene and force some competition so companies like mine could afford even one short code.
Official list of domain registrars: http://www.internic.net/alpha.html
Interesting take Mark. No doubt the cost of codes needs to come down. We are members of the MMA, so maybe we should start talks there.
Yes, its sinister. Good post! Thanks.
@jaredreitzin Thanks for your acknowledgment. I’m glad you called out the CSCA on how unreasonable it is to expect anyone to buy 10 or more codes at once. There’s almost no need to own that many, nor any reasonable financial justification to consider spending $60,000+/year on mobile short codes, let alone $6,000+/year just for one. And let’s face it, 10% isn’t even that much of a discount. I’m sure the CSCA could give us more than that if we’re spending $1000/month. How does at least 25% sound?
I’d say you are right that there are a limited number of short codes available since there can only be 5 numeric digits in a short code (COKE and a few others are grandfathered in with 4 digits), as opposed to Internet domains that can be of variable length and as long as 255 alphanumeric characters in each TLD.
Regardless, I maintain that the exorbitant cost of a short code is preventing innovation in mobile applications. Coming from the perspective of operating a social networking website, I can state that any startup relying on SMS to interact with customers has no chance competing against the likes of Facebook or Twitter, who can easily afford to sustain a short code.
If you can bring this to the attention of the MMA, please keep us all informed. Thank you.
Granted, this is true.
Interesting Post. There so many scheme like this you can find. But short codes are so expensive.
This is why people use shared short codes from content providers. Even this option is being threatened, as certain carriers are now making noise about disallowing shared short codes. Value Chain??? Nope…Greed Chain!!
Mike, have you experienced a situation first hand where a carrier has decided to shut off your shared code because it was shared? If not have you heard of any stories? Please reply if you have.
hi,nice one!i like your title very much Mike.very inspiring information. i like the links these are very helpful.thanks for sharing these idea’s.keep it up.
Thanks family quotes!
I completely get the article, and kudos to you jaredreitzin for seeing it further!
I am a new business owner that wants to use SMS and I have found the whole US short code requirement completely stifling to my method.
There is a monopolizing thing happening in the US, with the aggregators getting the best of the loot! Thousands of dollars just to have them apply for one for you is a middle man needing to be givin the boot! I know it’s not their fault, they are working with the system created by the telecoms that allows them to do such.
Why not allow businesses to simply apply for their own long code (10 digits plus) then take them to the aggregators? (and then fine the business big time if there is an abuse?) It’s like back in the days when individuals couldn’t keep their phone numbers when they wanted to switch cariers. .. oh I could go on…
Интересно..
Until the monopoly is over, the best way to acquire a short code is to become an SMS Reseller on a shared short code. Currently several companies offer this service with messaging costs as low as .04 outbound only. Combines with a feature rich commercial grade SMS app and api, your in business for less than 10 percent the cost of a dedicated code monthly with all the benifits!
Yes but there is a fine line here. CSCA does not like this model and at some point I feel they will do something about it. It’s important you get active, become members of the MMA and make sure you have a voice. Also it’s very important you follow MMA guidlines using a shared code, because if just one of your client’s messes up, it could ruin it for the rest of your clients.