Forum Discussion

Unshackled's avatar
Unshackled
New Member
2 years ago

SMS Campaign Registration Erroneous Information

I have 5 phone numbers with Jive / Go To Connect.   I have SMS enabled on 3 of them, and have for close to a decade.   I recently purchased a new phone number for a new company I'm launching and tried to turn on SMS so that I could get a confirmation code from google to setup a new Gmail account.   Both  the my.jive.com/pbx/[username]/dashboard and the new admin.goto.com dashboard  insist that I need to register for a campaign in order to get text messages.

Under the tab for "sms-campaign" a message reads... 

If your organization plans to send SMS messages, wireless industry regulations require that you register your brand and at least one campaign with The Campaign Registry. Registering your "brand" is about establishing yourself as a valid legal entity. Registering a "campaign" is about establishing in advance what kinds of messages you'll send. These requirements represent an effort by the wireless industry to protect their customers from unwanted messages. GoTo's registration tool is designed to make the registration process as simple as possible. All fees shown represent a direct pass-through by GoTo without any markup.

Here is a breakdown of the costs involved to be fully compliant with industry regulations.

Brand registration fee: $4.00 one-time

Campaign vetting fee: $15.00 one-time

Active campaign fee: $1.50 - $10.00 monthly per campaign


I visited both campaignregistry.com/foryou/  and campaignregistry.com/what-is-campaign-registry/  and both pages state explicitly that end users... brands... don't need to register, but rather, "a CSP (Campaign Service Provider) is the primary user of TCR (The Campaign Registry). A CSP works with multiple Brands to create and launch SMS messaging Campaigns."    "BRANDS : You are a company and wish to use SMS to communicate with your customers. The service is not for you, you should talk to your messaging provider ....to help you with your messaging needs."


I called support at GoTo Connect, and was told that I would both have to register, and pay the vetting and the monthly fees if I wanted to be able to receive text messages from my clients on my new business phone number.   I explained to the representative that this information she was provided is a mis-application of the regulations as explained on the CampaignRegistry website.   I'm not an app developer.  I'm not a campaign service provider.  I'm the end user... I'm the brand.   And according to the CampaignRegistry website, I do not need to register or pay any fees. 

Is this a gross mistake by GoToConnect, or an attempt to bilk money from their users under the guise of complying with new regulations?   If my decades old phone numbers with GoToConnect can accept SMS from outside numbers, why can't they check the magic box in the back-office to enable it on my newly purchased phone number?

 

 

 

  • Greg-Product's avatar
    Greg-Product
    2 years ago

    Hi, 

     

    Thanks for reaching out. This is a new industry regulation. You must now register a Brand and Campaign in order to activate SMS. You are correct that you are the Brand in this case, we are the CSP. The information on the Campaign Registry website is referring to a direct relation with the TCR. As the Brand, you should not register directly with the TCR, you must register though the CSP (GoTo). As we have the relationship directly with the TCR. Unfortunately, there is no workaround, this is a new regulation affecting all service providers.

     

    Thanks, 

  • Greg-Product's avatar
    Greg-Product
    GoTo Contributor
    2 years ago

    Hi, 

     

    Thanks for reaching out. This is a new industry regulation. You must now register a Brand and Campaign in order to activate SMS. You are correct that you are the Brand in this case, we are the CSP. The information on the Campaign Registry website is referring to a direct relation with the TCR. As the Brand, you should not register directly with the TCR, you must register though the CSP (GoTo). As we have the relationship directly with the TCR. Unfortunately, there is no workaround, this is a new regulation affecting all service providers.

     

    Thanks, 

    • LCinLA's avatar
      LCinLA
      New Member
      4 months ago

      I cannot find anything about a government REQUIREMENT for all CPCs to use The Campaign Registry. It looks like this is one way for CPCs to handle the rules and regulations around SMS, but to say that it is required by the government seems to be an overreach. There is nothing on the TCR website that points to a government ruling that their service must be used. If this is the way GoTo is dealing with it, that's fine. But you're implying that the TCR is being mandated by the government, which does not seem to be the case. If it is, you should be providing the specific regulation where that has been codified.

      • GlennD's avatar
        GlennD
        GoTo Manager
        4 months ago

        Hi LCinLA,

         

        If you choose not to register by December 1, 2024 text messages sent after this date will be blocked. Carriers may choose to block your messages or mark your numbers as spam. Also, you cannot add new numbers with texting capabilities or make any changes until you have successfully registered a campaign. 

         

        The CTIA who represent the U.S. wireless communications industry and companies are mandating this registration, as a Campaign Service Provider we are trying to help and encourage our customers to register in time and avoid any service disruptions. 

         

        "The CTIA guidelines are voluntary, while the laws you must direct your legal team’s attention to are based on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Written in 1991, the TCPA does not cover texting by name, but the case law has held that text messages fall under the same laws as phone calls. "