What is DLT?

DLT is the short form for Distributed Ledger Technology – a new blockchain technology adopted by telecom industry as directed by TRAI’s TCCCPR 2018 regulation to primarily control the spam content that’s sent through SMS.

If you want to send sms to Indian mobile numbers DLT account is now mandatory. Before you go ahead and apply, its wise to know how much time each action takes, so you can plan your project accordingly.

Timeline

DLT Service	Time taken (approx.)
DLT Registration	5 mins
DLT Account Approval (and to get PE ID)	5 mins to 48 hrs
DLT Header Approval	6 hrs to 72 hrs
DLT Template Approval	6 hrs to 72 hrs

Above mentioned turn-around-time is only approximate and it may vary from time to time for various reasons. SMSHorizon do not have any control on this, however, we will be here to help you through the process.

To speed up approval, consider registering with multiple operators and try submitting different content with different operators.

Note: While creating multiple DLT accounts, your PE ID will remain same and all templates/headers will be synced with each other in realtime. That’s the real advantage of DLT technology.

Now let’s begin with the registration part,

DLT Registration

Choosing operator

Every operator has their own DLT portal and the advantage of this technology is that all operators are in sync with each other and so any changes made on DLT portal will be updated with all others in real-time. 

While you may choose the operator you wish, we would suggest you to go with Jio for now, as the process is simple and easy. Most importantly its FREE (temporarily).

You may also register yourself with multiple operators, if you wish so.

How to Register?

Below are the process for DLT registration on Jio portal.

1. Visit Jio DLT Portal
2. Choose “Register Now”
3. Choose “Principle Entity”
4. Choose “No” for Are you already registered as a Principal Entity?
5. Fill up the form with your KYC details and submit.
6. You will receive an email with your Entity ID (usually in 5 mins)

Entity ID which is also known as PE ID (Principle Entity ID) is the unique ID for your DLT a/c. This ID will remain the same across multiple operators.

If you have not received the email, don’t worry, login to your DLT account now and you can find your entity ID on the top left in Jio DLT portal.

Adding Telemarketer

Once you are registered, you will have to add the telemarketer to your account, so that your messages pass through us to the networks properly. To add SMSHorizon as telemarketer, follow below steps:

1. Login to Jio DLT Portal
2. Click on Campaign -> My Telemarketers -> Manage Telemarketers
3. Search for the details as shown in the snapshot.
4. Once found, simply drag and drop to the right. Then click Apply and you’re done.

Through DLT portal you can register and get your headers and templates. More on that in detail below:

Headers

Header ID or Sender ID is the ID that your customer sees when you send SMS to them. Its 6 DIGITS (alpha only). For ex: HDFCBK, FLIPKT, AMAZON, etc.

You have to register only those that closely resembles your product or service. Else, it may get rejected. Registering Headers is simple. Follow below:

1. Logon to DLT portal -> Header SMS -> Header SMS Registration
2. Fill the details as per your requirement and submit
3. Your header will get approved in 24-48 hrs usually.

Templates

Before proceeding further, you need to know the DLT message types which is most important for easy & quicker approval. The three messages types are as below:

1. Service Implicit (type: transactional): All transactional messages like OTP, product/service delivery sms sent to your customers fall under this category. This is also called as service Inferred in Jio DLT portal. This can have Alpha sender ID as per your choice of 6 digits.
2. Service Explicit (type: promotional): Promotional SMS sent to existing customers about upcoming offers. This can have Alpha sender ID as per your choice of 6 digits. Consent template required for this.
3. Promotional (type: promotional): This is pure Promotional SMS, usually sent to unknown potential customers. This can have only numeric sender ID. Consent template required for this.

You’ve to add templates by selecting one of the above, wherever required. Templates are of two types: content & consent templates.

Content template is applicable for sending both Promotional SMS and Transactional SMS while consent template is required only for sending Promotional SMS. More in detail below,

Consent Templates

Consent Template is used for taking customers permission before sending them Promotional SMS. So if a business wants to send promotional SMS to its customers, it has to first submit Consent Template on the DLT platform.

Once approved, you’ve to then map the content templates accordingly by choosing the right consent template & header.

Note: As mentioned earlier, consent Template is not required for Service Implicit route (transactions sms). It is mandatory only for Service Explicit & numeric promotional routes.

Content Templates

This is the format of your message and you can mark the variables wherever required. Note that Transactional SMS falls under service implicit or service Inferred category. Hence, add templates accordingly.

Important Content Template Validations are as below,

1. Each variable length can’t exceed 30 chars
2. Variable format is {#var#} which is case sensitive
3. Promotional SMS content without consent template wont get approved.
4. Variable can be inserted by clicking the radio button (insert variable)
5. Two or more spaces are not supposed to use between 2 words, before word or after word.
6. All special characters (found on keyboard) are allowed, except < and > symbols.
7. Trans/Service category messages should have variable mandatorily.
8. Promo category can have complete fixed content or with variable part
9. Values like amount, date, a/c no, merchant names, OTP, codes, URL, customer names, cardtype, etc. needs to be replaced with variables.

Here are some simple valid content template examples for Jio DLT platform:

• “Dear {#var#}, your shipment has been successfully delivered. – YOUR BRAND NAME”
• “Dear customer, we have received your payment of {#var#} dated {#var#} – YOUR BRAND NAME”

Note that operators take their own time to approve headers and templates. If not approved for more than 3 business days, consider adding again by making changes to it.

Once approved, you have to link your DLT a/c with SMSHorizon as below.

Mapping SMSHorizon Ac with DLT Ac

Your messages will deliver as expected only after you successfully connect your SMSHorizon User account with the Operator DLT Account. Its very simple though, follow the process as below:

1. To link the Entity ID, login to your SMSHorizon A/c and go to Profile section. Enter your Entity ID (received during above DLT registration process) in the DLT Entity ID box and click submit. This is mandatory.
2. To link the headers, kindly email us your DLT approved Header (sender ID) and we will activate it usually within 30 mins. This is mandatory.
3. To link templates, login to your SMSHorizon A/c and go to Templates section. Enter your templates along with the template ID. This is mandatory. 

Once above is done, you may start using the services as usual.

For API Users

If you’re an API user, you will also need to pass the template ID along with other parameters while sending each SMS. This is mandatory. 

Your messages may get rejected if we’re not receiving the Template ID along with other parameters in the API.

You’ve two options:

1. Quick Fix: Add all your DLT approved templates to SMSHorizon Portal and we will automatically match the content with the appropriate template.
2. Developer Fix: Pass respective Template ID (parameter: tid ) with every message. Kindly refer to the “HTTP API” section on SMSHorizon portal for the same.

Kindly note that the Developer Fix is always suggested compared to the Quick fix, especially if your templates are complicated.

Hope above helps you to get your DLT account ready in no time. Facing issues? Feel free to reach out to support for any help related to DLT.

How can SMSHorizon help?

• Approvals stuck at DLT portals: The DLT portals are maintained and supported by respective telecom operators. SMSHorizon staff has neither visibility nor control on why and where the entity (PE) registrations are stuck. The respective DLT portals will directly communicate with you over email regarding approval status, any missing documentation etc. Please check your emails and provide additional docs as needed.
• Approval timelines: Due to heavy rush at the operator portals, we have been informed that the approval queues are constantly increasing, implying increasing approval timelines and SLAs.
• Registration fees: The fees imposed by different DLT portals is also outside our control. We are only providing you with the available options (where the processes are clear to us) and encouraging those who can to register on multiple portals for speedy approvals.
• Process changes: The processes may go through small changes from time to time – we will keep the information updated on this page.

Update: 8th March 2021

All operators have enabled template scrubbing from 8th march 2021 and hence Messages without Template ID’s will not be delivered going forward. Kindly pass the template ID wherever required.

For any queries related to DLT, kindly get in touch with respective operators DLT support. If you’re stuck somewhere, feel free to contact our support, we may guide you in the process, however its upto operator to decide when it comes to approvals.