Ensuring TRAI SMS Compliance with Cuttly: 2s.ms domian & Headers Guide

How Cuttly's 2s.ms Domain Helps Ensure Compliance with TRAI’s New SMS Regulations: A Guide to Safe SMS Campaigns Using Headers

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If you need assistance setting up https://2s.ms/HEADER/ domain or ensuring compliance with TRAI’s regulations, visit our Knowledge Base:
1. How to Add the 2s.ms/HEADER/ Domain for TRAI Compliance SMS Campaigns in Cuttly
2. Adding and Using 2s.ms/HEADER/ in Cuttly's Team Dashboard

The introduction of new regulations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) significantly changes how businesses should approach SMS marketing. Starting from October 1, 2024, TRAI’s rules aim to enhance consumer protection by preventing unauthorized and potentially harmful messages. If you're running SMS campaigns using links, you must ensure that the URL and HEADER are whitelisted to avoid message delivery failures. This guide will show you how to comply with TRAI’s rules using Cuttly's 2s.ms domain and HEADER functionalities.

Why are TRAI’s New Regulations Important?

The primary goal of TRAI’s new regulations is to protect consumers from fraudulent messages that contain non-compliant links. Telecom operators are now required to block SMS messages that include URLs that have not been whitelisted. This applies to both static and dynamic URLs, meaning every sender must make sure that their headers and URLs are registered with the DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) platform used by telecom providers in India.

Failure to comply with these regulations could result in your SMS campaigns being blocked, severely affecting your business’s ability to engage with customers.

Why Use 2s.ms domian?

Cuttly's 2s.ms domain provides a generic solution for SMS link shortening that adheres to TRAI’s regulations. With 2s.ms domian, users can:

Generate compliant, shortened URLs for SMS campaigns.

Use headers that meet the TRAI guidelines.

Example of a compliant URL structure using 2s.ms domian:

https://2s.ms/HEADER/{dynamicShortLinkID}

Benefits include:

Compliance with TRAI: The 2s.ms domain, combined with registered headers, ensures that your links meet TRAI’s requirements for whitelisting.

Ease of Use: Unlike custom domains, 2s.ms domian is available immediately for SMS link shortening, without additional configuration.

Simplified Header Management: You can add and manage 2s.ms domian with your headers easily in Cuttly, ensuring compliance for each campaign.

Understanding Header IDs and Their Role

To comply with TRAI, every SMS campaign must include a registered HEADER ID, a 6-character code that identifies the sender. This HEADER must be whitelisted on the DLT platform.

For instance: https://2s.ms/HEADER/abc123

In this example: https://2s.ms/HEADER/ is the static portion of the URL that must be whitelisted.
abc123 is the dynamic part, generated uniquely for each instance.

The static part of the URL (e.g., https://2s.ms/HEADER/) must be submitted for whitelisting. The dynamic portion will vary for each message but does not affect compliance.

Client Responsibility for Compliance

Cuttly provides tools for managing headers using the 2s.ms domain, but the responsibility for registering and whitelisting the HEADER and static URL on the DLT platform lies with the client. Clients must:

Register their HEADER ID with the DLT platform.

Ensure the HEADER is whitelisted with their telecom operator to guarantee smooth message delivery.

The HEADER and domain: 2s.ms domian are linked, meaning that the HEADER identifies the sender, and the domain must be whitelisted for compliance.

How to Use the 2s.ms Domain in Cuttly

Here's how it works:

Add the 2s.ms Domain with a HEADER: In your Cuttly account, add... the 2s.ms domain just like you would with any custom domain. The format should be **2s.ms/HEADER/**, where HEADER is your valid SMS header.

Publicly Available Domain: The 2s.ms domain is publicly available, meaning any user can add and use it. However, this requires at least a Team subscription plan to access this feature.

Add Multiple Headers: If you have multiple headers, you can add 2s.ms domian multiple times, each with a different header. For each instance (e.g., 2s.ms/HEADER1/, 2s.ms/HEADER2/), you'll be able to create shortened links specific to those headers.

Subscription Limits: The same limits on the number of domains apply to 2s.ms domian as they do for custom domains. Each addition of 2s.ms/HEADER/ counts as a separate domain within your subscription plan.

Shorten Links: Once you've added the domain with the appropriate HEADER, you can start shortening links within the 2s.ms domain, ensuring they comply with TRAI’s regulations for SMS campaigns.

Benefits of the Shortened Domain

Maximized Space for Dynamic Links: In compliance with TRAI regulations, the use of https:// is mandatory. The domain 2s.ms, when combined with the required https:// and /, results in 14 characters (i.e., https://2s.ms/). When you add a HEADER/, which consists of 7 characters, the total length becomes 21 characters (i.e., https://2s.ms/HEADER/). This leaves a generous 9 characters for the dynamic part of the short link, allowing for unique, identifiable aliases while staying well within TRAI's 30-character limit.

Act Now to Stay Compliant

With the new TRAI regulations taking effect on October 1, 2024, businesses must act quickly to avoid disruptions. Using 2s.ms domian, combined with compliant HEADER IDs, ensures smooth message delivery and compliance with TRAI’s new SMS rules.

Cuttly is here to help you with this transition. If you need assistance setting up https://2s.ms/HEADER/ domain or ensuring compliance with TRAI’s regulations, visit our Knowledge Base:
1. How to Add the 2s.ms/HEADER/ Domain for TRAI Compliance SMS Campaigns in Cuttly
2. Adding and Using 2s.ms/HEADER/ in Cuttly's Team Dashboard

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