How does 10DLC affect my messaging?

This article details how the new messaging standard known as 10DLC will affect sending messages with Hustle.

For more information about 10DLC, see What is 10DLC?

Skip to:

• How many messages can I send on 10DLC?
• What does the TCR score do?
• How do carriers affect throughput?
  •  T-Mobile daily throughput
  • AT&T's sending speed:
  • Verizon and all other carriers:
• How do campaign use cases affect throughput?
  • Standard campaign throughput
  • Special campaign throughput
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • What is a message segment?

How many messages can I send on 10DLC?
 

The answer to this question is influenced by a number of factors:

• The message recipient's carrier
• The use case of the TCR Campaign sending the traffic 
• The brand's TCR Score

This article will explain how each factor influences the amount of messages you can send and at what speed.

What does the TCR score do?

When a brand is registered with The Campaign Registry (TCR), the entity's details are reviewed by third parties collectively referred to as Vetting Partners.

• Standard Brands: Most entities will receive a score of 0-100 based on the Vetting Partner's review. 
• Political Brands: Political Candidates, Parties, PACs and 527s will be vetted by Campaign Verify (CV). CV does not return a "score". Instead, they will be marked as Active

Generally, a higher TCR score results in higher messaging throughput with select carriers.

How do carriers affect throughput?

T-Mobile daily throughput

For most brands, T-Mobile enforces a daily cap on message segments sent per day (12am PST to 11:59pm PST). When a brand hits their T-Mobile limit, Hustle will show a warning in the admin panel and pause sending messages to T-mobile subscribers until the hours of operation resume the following day.

The following table includes a breakdown of T-Mobile daily message caps by TCR Score.

Note: T-Mobile daily segment caps are applied the same across all brands with a few exceptions. The following are excluded from T-Mobile daily segment cap
• Brands that register with a Campaign Verify token and use the Political special use case
• Government entities, as confirmed by TCR 

AT&T's sending speed:

Unlike T-Mobile, AT&T places limits on sending speed (measured in message segments per second (MPS)) rather than daily volume. Below, we will explain how the combination of brand score and campaign use case determines AT&T sending speed.

Verizon and all other carriers:

Verizon and all other carriers have yet to define how throughput limits for 10DLC. As more information becomes available this article will be updated.

How do campaign use cases affect throughput?

Only AT&T enforces sending speed based on the brand score and the campaign use case. The availability of special use cases is determined by the brand’s tax-exempt status. See Which campaign should I choose for my brand? for more information.

Standard campaign throughput

For AT&T, the throughput available via standard campaigns is influenced solely by the TCR Score of the brand. 

Standard use cases: 

• 2FA
• Account Notification
• Customer Care
• Delivery Notification
• Fraud Alert Messaging
• Higher Education
• Polling & Voting
• Public Service Announcement
• Security Alert
• Low Volume Mixed
• Mixed
• Marketing

Special campaign throughput

For special campaigns, AT&T ignores the brand score and sets speed based on the Use Case itself.

Remember: T-Mobile does not enforce sending speed. Instead, they enforce a daily segment caps that are not influenced by campaign use cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a message segment?

When you send SMS, they are broken up into smaller sections called segments in order to be sent through the carrier network before they are reassembled on your contact's device. What is a message segment?

Why do segments matter for 10DLC? For the purposes of 10DLC, AT&T has instituted limits on the speed in which they will send segments for individual customers. Additionally, T-Mobile has implemented a daily segment cap for TCR brands (with a few exceptions); so messages with many segments can cause some entities to quickly reach their daily limit. As a rule of thumb:
 

• The more segments in a message, the longer it will take for messages to be delivered to audience members.
• Longer messages and messages containing non-standard characters in particular will use more segments to deliver your message. 

To see how many segments your script uses, you can use this Message Segment Calculator

Note: MMS messages, or messages containing media content, are handled differently. MMS messages are delivered as one segment regardless of character length but do have file size limits associated with them. For more information about these limits, see How do I text with MMS in Hustle?