Requesting dedicated long codes for SMS messaging with Amazon SNS
A long code (also referred to as a long virtual number, or LVN) is a standard phone number that contains up to 12 digits, depending on the country that it's based in. Long codes are typically meant for low-volume, person-to-person communication. However, you can also use long codes for sending test messages, or for sending low volumes of messages to your customers.
Support for long codes is restricted to the United States only. Sending rates for long codes are restricted to 1 message per second. This restriction is set by the telecom carriers, and isn't a limitation of Amazon SNS. If you send a large volume of messages from a long code, wireless carriers might begin to block your messages. Your applications that use Amazon SNS should limit the number of messages that they send each second.
If you're new to SMS messaging with Amazon SNS, you should also request a monthly SMS spending threshold that meets the expected demands of your SMS use case. By default, your monthly spending threshold is $1.00 (USD). For more information, see Requesting increases to your monthly SMS spending quota for Amazon SNS.
Step 1: Request a long code using the Amazon Pinpoint console
Request a long code by completing the following steps.
To request a dedicated long code
-
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon Pinpoint console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/pinpoint/
. -
Choose Create a project
-
Select the project you created.
-
Under Settings, choose SMS and voice.
-
Under the Number settings heading, choose Request long codes.
-
Under the Long code specifications heading, choose the Target country or region from the drop-down.
-
Under Default call type choose Transactional or Promotional.
-
From the Quantity drop-down, choose the number of long codes to request. You can request up to 10 long codes at a time.
-
Optional: To create long codes in more countries or regions, or request more than 10 long codes for your target country or region, choose Add a country or region.
-
Choose Request long codes.
-
Once your long code is provisioned, you will see it listed under Number settings (N).
-
Under Number settings, choose the long code.
-
Under Default keywords, you can optionally edit the Amazon SNS responses for the HELP and STOP keywords.
-
Under Registered keyword, you can enter a keyword that you registered with the wireless carriers. Amazon SNS will automatically reply with the Response message you enter.
-
When you finish, choose Save.
Next steps
You've registered a long code. Now you can use Amazon SNS to send SMS messages with your long code as the origination number.
