| October 2010 Periodic Update |
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Where did September go? We seem to have got through it in a flash. Our development team has been occupied expanding our messaging platform in preparation for the festive surge of traffic and putting the final touches to our new version Command Centre.
This is a critical time of year for creative agencies and service providers to finalize plans for the major brand customers. Whether it’s a toy store or airline, SMS forms an integrated part of the overall campaign. That’s where you need an agile, compliant and reliable partner come in handy to meet those deadlines and goals. So, let your Account Manager or Customer Care team know if we can go that extra mile and be that helping hand, particularly for special requirements.
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We're also delighted to announce we finalized a deal with the GSM Association (GSMA) for a stand in Hall 2. As GSMA Associate members, we are fully committed to collaboration and understanding the industry’s needs. This is fantastic opportunity to meet you in person in February 2011. A date for the diary!
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India has certainly made the headlines over the past few weeks. An unprecedented ban by the Indian government prohibiting mobile operators accepting bulk traffic due to the risk of heightened tension and conflict over the Ayodhya case caused major disruption. This 60 year old case finally saw its verdict on 30th September and we are pleased to announce our high quality termination service to all Indian networks including fixed line and CDMA via our direct connections are back in full working order. Many thanks for your cooperation and understanding during the turbulence.
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Routing Insights: Spam
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Not a month goes by without us get asked about our policy on spam and how this affects service levels. Well, rightly so as not only does it have implications at an industry level but also on the quality of service we provide. Our resident Routing Manager, Katarina Velikovic provides her expert view on the topic. Here’s the Q & A:
What’s your general view on spam?
To be honest I’ve never really been keen on its taste when I was a kid, even when buried in my auntie’s omelets. OK, on a more serious note though, it’s something that I believe drives the way operators behave and consequently SMS pricing. |
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Can you elaborate on that last point?
Put simply, operators hate receiving spam as much as the subscribers that complain about it. They utilize a number ways to control incoming traffic and one of the easiest is to block the termination of all messages. What that in turn means is that your aggregator is going to be sending your traffic through an alternative (back up) route that is likely to be costing them more than the blocked primary route. You guessed it – it's at this point that you'll receive an unexplained price increase if your current price is either close or below the aggregator's new cost.
So, what makes RoutoMessaging any different?
We don't have a magic wand to pull out the drawer I'm afraid but we do rigorously execute a number of measures to manage spam. It works too. Conversely, what we've seen is many aggregators are adversely affected by spam because they simply don't have the processes, systems and people to deal with it effectively.
Our measures include:
- Local intelligence on restrictions and adhering to these
- Active spam monitoring and dynamic filtering technology
- Drawing customer's attention to the anti-spam clause in our terms
- No routing through other aggregators where there is great risk of blocking
- Direct connections to destination operators
- High quality back up routes as standard with our Web prices.
Is it true that some operators consider anything sent in bulk as spam?
Some operators see a very fine line between bulk and spam and address that by blocking anything that has characteristics of bulk (originator / repeat messages / etc.). It's good to check on latest with your Account Manager or our Customer Care team about any peculiarities before carrying out bulk campaigns in a new territory.
Do you sell spam routes?
Thankfully, we receive very few of these enquiries. In any case we don't and this isn't our market at all. There are indeed "fixed sender ID" services out there, which we wouldn't touch with a barge pole. We are focused on high quality SMS that represents the best value, not the cheapest, but the best balance between price and quality.
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How big a threat are Apps to SMS?
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That’s a mighty big question but the answer is small. Not at all.
But it’s funny we’d say that isn’t it given were in the SMS market. Let’s justify our viewpoint…
We think SMS doesn’t compete with apps. SMS compliment apps, particularly in developing markets. We witness this daily with mobile application developers contacting us to enquire about how to integrate SMS functionality where notifications need to be received when the app is offline or another party needs information relating to the app transferred to them. |
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Whether or not SMS is going to be wiped out by mobile smartphone apps is question that could only be raised in places where practically every man and his dog has a Smartphone (as can be witnessed on the London Underground during rush hour)! However, let’s put this into a global context – did you know the number of mobile phones in the world has cross the 5 billion mark, of which only 350 million are smartphones – that’s less than 10%. So, until smartphones begin to dominate the market, all those businesses in the SMS value chain can relax a bit!
Here are some further facts to consider about SMS versus apps:
- SMS Doesn’t need setting up or downloading - works straight out the box.
- It’s incredibly simple. Everyone understands SMS.
- You don’t have to send anything. You can just receive.
- No need to be online continuously for push notifications - your favourite store can push SMS to you.
- With character limit (plain 160, Unicode 70, unless concatenated) the message has to get to the point - saves you time trawling through long boring emails.
- The open rate for SMS is 100%. Everybody opens every SMS they receive.
- SMS engage your app with the user and trigger more frequent use of the app.
- No need for additional costs - high bandwidth Internet access or international data roaming charges.
- SMS works on the simplest handset
- Apps are at risk of being replaced by mobile web apps as Smartphone browsers improve
Do you have a burning topic for discussion that relates to SMS? Contact us and let us know!
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Destination Update
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New
We’ve recently added the following destination operators into our coverage
- Papua New Guinea BMobile
- Tunisia Orange
- Uganda Orange
- Morocco Wana
- Mongolia Unitel
Offers on Hong Kong and Greece
If we‘re not already set as your primary route for these destinations, this month you can benefit from special rates.
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+44(0) 870 231 7777 
