Wednesday, March 31, 2010

"This is twilio"

Text the word TWILIO to 617-744-9926 and you will receive a simple reply - “This is twilio”. At first glance this is a basic SMS auto-reply service, but underneath it may signal a major shift in SMS service provision in the USA.

People have been talking about twilio's new SMS service over the past month, so I decided I should check it out. Last week we started up a UA account and secured a local twilio number. Out of curiosity we performed a carrier lookup on the number and found that it is registered to Bandwidth.com, a VoIP service provider and national CLEC. Next we used twilio's API to connect the number to our mobile application platform and now we have a full suite of interactive SMS services running over a standard 10-digit phone number (aka long-code).

So why is this important or interesting? Because it gives people the ability to deploy a commercial SMS application or service without having to secure a short code! As I cited in an earlier post on vanity short codes, a dedicated short code costs $500-$1,000 per month just for the lease fee. Add on top of that the aggregator and service provider fees and the costs quickly mount. Not to mention that it takes 8-10 weeks to provision a new short code across the carrier networks.

Before using twilio for SMS services though, people should also take into account a couple of disadvantages compared to short code based services. First, the cost of messaging is most likely higher than when using a short code service (twilio currently charges 3cents per incoming/outgoing text-message). Second, the throughput is throttled to 1 message per second, where on a short code the throughput usually starts at around 5 messages p/s and goes up from there.

Shared short codes provide another alternative, but pricing for keyword routing is not exactly inexpensive, and there is always a possibility that the carriers will shut down a shared short code if one of the services is not in compliance (see recent case with Clickatel)

Will the carriers also try to disconnect twilio's SMS services? I am not an expert on the telecommunications regulations involved here, but I think it might land the carriers in hot water with the FCC if they tried.

-Steve Nye

30 comments:

  1. Hey Steve, I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that we recently reduced the price of Twilio SMS to $0.01 per message, and we've also just released a short code SMS product of our own:
    http://www.twilio.com/api/sms/short-codes

    Would love to hear what you think!

    -Danielle @ Twilio

    ReplyDelete
  2. A phone call is a phone bring in which somebody converses with a few individuals in the meantime. The phone calls might be intended to permit the called gathering to partake amid the call, or the ring might be set so that the called party simply listens into the call and can't talk. It is some of the time called ATC (sound video chat).
    Conference Calling Plugins

    ReplyDelete
  3. customers could save up memory Tutu App as the application provides capabilities Official of nearly 5 various applications,TuTu Helpers which is great.

    ReplyDelete
  4. that only run the conditioner when required.sitey.me/ Fleck are known for producing some Official Website of themost effecient systems on the market and also are Fleck Water Softener Reviews (Review To Guide 2017) a winner when selecting a system for Fleck Water Softener Reviews your home. If you would like to see our Fleck Water Softener comprehensive Fleck testimonial then simply go here.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Apk Market APK Download For Android. GetApk iOS, PC, Windows App Download. Apk is an open-source stage which gives ApkMarkt paid Android APK's to free.

    ReplyDelete
  6. To begin with, boost your comprehensive and caloric protein physical fitness tips in hindi ingestion your body has enough building blocks for bigger

    ReplyDelete
  7. the cost of messaging is most likely higher than when using a short code service (twilio currently charges 3cents per incoming/outgoing text-message). Second, the throughput is throttled to 1 message per second, where on a short code the throughput usually starts at around 5 messages p/s and goes up from there.
    https://tutuapp.buzz

    ReplyDelete
  8. I read that Post and got it fine and informative. Please share more like that...
    Thumbs up guys your doing a really good job.
    download showbox

    ReplyDelete
  9. I’m happy I located this blog! From time to time, students want to cognitive the keys of productive literary essays composing. Your first-class knowledge about this good post can become a proper basis for such people. nice one
    trig half angle identities

    ReplyDelete
  10. freemobdroapkdownload.comI am overwhelmed by your post with such a nice topic. Usually I visit your blogs and get updated through the information you include but today’s blog would be the most appreciable. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is also a very good post which I really enjoyed reading. It is not every day that I have the possibility to see something like this..


    repelisplus

    ReplyDelete

  12. I am a new user of this site so here i saw multiple articles and posts posted by this site,I curious more interest in some of them hope you will give more information on this topics in your next articles.

    www.focusgroupusa.com/paid-online-focus-group

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is also a very good post which I really enjoyed reading. It is not every day that I have the possibility to see something like this..


    betterwrites.com/best-self-help-books

    ReplyDelete
  14. You completely match our expectation and the variety of our information.


    notepadplusplusdownload.com/notepad-download-windows-8

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is also a very good post which I really enjoyed reading. It is not every day that I have the possibility to see something like this..latest rice purity test

    ReplyDelete
  16. The material and aggregation is excellent and telltale as comfortably.

    gb whatsapp latest version download

    ReplyDelete
  17. Its as if you had a great grasp on the subject matter, but you forgot to include your readers. Perhaps you should think about this from more than one angle.

    average rice purity test

    ReplyDelete
  18. I recently came across your article and have been reading along showboxapk-official.com/showbox-apk-previous-versions

    ReplyDelete
  19. Cool stuff you have and you keep overhaul every one of us



    checkiqamaonline.com/absher

    ReplyDelete