Webservice Reference VS. Service Reference

When using .NET to call webservices, make sure you are using the webservice reference, not the service reference.

Country Code

At any time when using a phone number in an API call, you must include the country code. For U.S. & Canada it is '1'.

List Scrubbing

Scrubbing refers to checking that the phone or email data you want to work with is valid so the API can use it. There are 2 ways to be able to scrub your phone data.

1. The number one and preferred method is to use the carrier lookup call by using the getCellularCarrierId() method in the Task class. Ideally you should loop your phone list through this method.
2. The second method would be to upload a subscriber list through the platform via CSV file.

*Note: You can only upload a list of 100 phone numbers at a time. If you upload more than 100, it will not process anything past the 100th number.

ShortCodes vs. LongCodes

SMS message may be delivered through a short code or a long code. Below is a brief description of each one:

Short Code

A short code is simply a shortened phone number, usually 5-6 digits long. Short codes are primarily used for mobile marketing and mass SMS. They are convenient for marketing purposes because they are easier to remember than a full 10 digit number. They are also made for mass SMS delivery purposes. The downside is that short codes are more expensive, can only be used in the US or Canada, and they take a minimum of 90 days to provision.

Long Code

A long code is a 10 digit phone number that has been text enabled. The advantage of long codes is that they are usually available in every area code in the U.S. and Canada, they can deliver messages internationally, and they only take 1-2 weeks to provision. Long codes can also be voice enabled so that 1 phone number can accept both text messages and phone calls. The downside is that long codes are not as easy to remember as a short code.