Asia Pacific SMS Guidelines – 8x8 CPaaS Help Center

SMS Guidelines for countries in the Asia Pacific

Bangladesh

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialing code	880
Major Carriers	Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, Teletalk, Citycell, Warid
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	15-20 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	No
Country Regulations	Domestic Entity: Must have Local office Local Server Local Trade License Alpha sender ID No spaces or special characters allowed If an international brand has a local entity, then the sender ID must contain "BD" at the end to avoid blocking International Entity: Grameenphone - Registration required Robi - Registration required Teletalk - Registration required Banglalink - Alpha dynamic
Country Restrictions	Adult, Anti-religious, Gambling, Political, Unethical offers contents are prohibited
Extra Information	-

Industry Reference:

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

CAMBODIA SMS: Products and Compliance

Cambodia

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialling code	855
Major Carriers	Smart Axiata, Metfone, Cellcard, CooTel and SeaTel
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	5-10 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	No
Country Regulations	For misuse of Sender ID a fine of 200% will be imposed
Country Restrictions	Advertising or promoting money lending services, spam, adult, religious, political, or gambling content.
Extra Information	Unicode is supported

To register your Sender ID, click here.

CHINA SMS: Products and Compliance

China

Sender ID	All Sender ID will be overwritten to Long Code
Dialing code	86
Major Carriers	China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom
Message length	70 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	5-10 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Long Code)
Country Regulations	There is no specific regulations
Country Restrictions	The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: spam adult religious political gambling Trading Stock Exchange Money Lending Falun Gong and other similar politically driven fractions, Multi-level marketing or Properties marketing content.
Extra information	Signature and content template whitelisting is required. Signature is considered the Sender ID with either【】or [] bracket, and it will be in front of the message. For example: 【8x8】Your OTP content is 123456.

HONG KONG SMS: Products and Compliance

Hong Kong

Sender ID	Alpha, Alpha Numeric
Dialing code	852
Major Carriers	CMHK, CSL, 3 Hong Kong, PCCW, SmarTone
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	3-5 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Long Code)
Country Regulations	Regulations for Bank, Government and Telecommunication Entities All Sender ID MUST be registered with Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) before registering the Sender ID with 8x8. All Sender ID shall start with prefix “#”, followed by three (3) to ten (10) characters. For the avoidance of doubt, “#”is not allowed in any position other than in the prefix of a Sender ID All Hong Kong banking traffic must be carried by Registered SMS Service Provider (RSSP). In order for a Service provider to be part of the RSSP, the Service provider will have to register with OFCA in accordance with the Code of Practice on Transmission and Delivery of Short Messages and Multimedia Messages (SMS CoP).
Country Restrictions	The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: Spam Adult Religious Political Gambling content
Extra Information	Sender ID Registration required

References:
Office of the Communications Authority

Short Message Services (SMS) Sender Registration Scheme

INDIA SMS: Products and Compliance

India

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialing code	91
Major Carriers	Reliance Jio India, Airtel India, Idea India, Vodafone India, BSNL India
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	10-15 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	No
Country Regulations	Domestic Entity: Pre-registration in the DLT portal Transactional type allowed transactions/OTP content without NDNC restrictions Promotional (without Opt-in) type allowed promo/marketing content and delivered between 10 am-9 pm IST time The Sender ID available for local traffic is alpha for transactional traffic and then 6-digit numeric for promo traffic International Entity: If the Sender ID is not supported, it will be changed to random Short Code There are no promo messages allowed over international connections Delivery on best-effort and delivered between 10 am-9 pm (IST) to non-NDNC customers only
Country Restrictions	Gambling and cryptocurrency content is prohibited
Extra Information	Messages to the same number with more than six messages within an hour with the same Sender or text may be blocked Users could not receive more than 200 SMS per day across all incoming streamed The Sender ID/s in India will be prefixed with additional two letters to inform the carrier delivering and the region Traffic Restriction (Political) Messages towards Jammu and Kashmir networks (example, 405/55 - Airtel J&K) will be blocked by the government due to political sensitivity. Please also note that political SMS are prohibited during election period throughout the country.

Industry Reference:

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

INDONESIA SMS: Products and Compliance

Indonesia

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialing code	62
Major Carriers	Telkomsel, Axis, Axiata, Indosat Ooredo, Hutchinson, Smart, Mobile 8
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time (Local)	15-20 Business Days
Setup Time (International)	20-25 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	No
Country Regulations	Indonesian message traffic is separated into local and international. Local traffic has further separation into OTP and notification.
Country restrictions	Prohibited Content: Adult Political Gambling Religion Tobacco

JAPAN SMS: Products and Compliance

Japan

Sender ID	Alpha numeric, numeric (For KDDI, overwritten to either Shortcode or Longcode)
Dialing code	81
Major Carriers	KDDI, Softbank, NTT DOCOMO, Rakuten Mobile
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup time	-
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Long Code and Short Code)
Country Regulations	KDDI will prepend additional 2-3 numeric characters for International Numeric Sender ID
Country Restrictions	The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: spam adult religious political gambling content

Industry Reference:

Japan Anti Spam Law

Information and Communication Policy Site

LAOS SMS: Products and Compliance

Laos

Sender ID	Alpha, Alpha numeric, numeric
Dialing code	856
Major Carriers	Lao Telecom, Unitel Laos, ETL, Beeline
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	-
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Long Code)
Country Regulations	There is no specific regulations
Country Restrictions	The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: Spam Religious Messages Political messages

MACAU SMS: Products and Compliance

Macau

Sender ID	Alpha, Alphanumeric, Numeric
Dialing code	853
Major Carriers	CTM Macau, China Telecom Macau, 3 Macau, SmarTone Macau
Message length	165 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	-
Support for Two Way SMS	No
Country Regulations	There is no specific regulations
Country Restrictions	Forbidden content types: Gambling Tobacco Spam Political Religious Adult content
Extra Information	Unicode is supported

MALAYSIA SMS: Products and Compliance

Malaysia

Sender ID	Numeric
Dialing code	60
Major Carriers	Maxis, Celcom, Digi, U Mobile
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Sender ID Supported	Yes
Setup Time	< 5 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Short Code)
Country regulations	Malaysia telco regulator (MCMC) has mandated that SMS blocking containing a URL and telephone number be implemented. This is effective on 5 June 2023. The client must whitelist the URL and Telephone Number for the message to be delivered. A penalty will be imposed if there are any fraud/ complaints from MCMC. Due to Malaysian network regulations, the string "RM0.00" is added at the beginning of the message text to indicate to the end user that the message is free of charge to receive. The length of a single SMS is 153 characters.
Country restrictions	The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are prohibited: phishing smishing spam political gambling adult content

SMS Compliance

Brand / Business Name

Brand/business name to be included in the content of each SMS message sent.
Messages without brand/ business name may be deemed as a message sent from an international brand and billed at international rates or additional penalties may be charged for SMS sent.

Cost of SMS - "RM 0.00" in the message body

Recommended to add RM 0.00 (with a spacing after the last 0) to message body to inform end-users that there was no charge in receiving the SMS.
RM 0.00 (with a spacing after the last 0) may be added to the message body by the telco operators if it is excluded

Prohibited Content:

The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: phishing, smishing, spam, political, gambling, and adult content.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has also announced restrictions on the content of SMS messages. It has been mandated that Malaysian Telecommunication Service Providers are to block all messages containing any of the following:

URLs
Requests for user personal information (e.g. name, identification number, card number, bank account number, etc.)
Mobile or fixed line numbers that users can dial in

For more information, please refer to the official announcement released by MCMC, or download our one-pager to learn how 8x8 can help.

MYANMAR SMS: Products and Compliance

Myanmar

SMS programs can be in English and Burmese

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialling code	95
Major Carriers	MPT MM, ATOM, Ooredoo, Mytel
Message length	160 characters (English) 70 characters (Burmese)
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup	> 20 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes
Country Regulations	For Alpha Sender ID, pre- registration is required for all local and international traffic
Country Restrictions	Prohibited Contents: Gambling Political Tobacco Alcohol Religious Phishing Adult content is forbidden

PAKISTAN SMS: Products and Compliance

Pakistan

Sender ID	Alpha, Alpha Numeric, Numeric
Dialing code	92
Major Carriers	Jazz, Ufone, Zong, SCO Mobile, Telenor
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	> 20 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes
Country Regulations	There is no specific regulation.
Country Restrictions	Telenor and Ufone operator will overwrite Sender ID to Short code. The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: Adult Content Religious content Political Content Gambling
Extra Information	Sender ID registration is required

Industry Reference:

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

PHILIPPINES SMS: Products and Compliance

Philippines

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialing code	63
Major carriers	Globe, Smart
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	15-20 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Short Code and Long Code)
Country regulations	Long SMS is limited to 3 messages, which amounts to 459 characters. Opt-in and opt-out options required for promo/marketing traffic.
Country restrictions	The following are the restricted content when it comes to sending SMS in the Philippines: - Ads for adult content, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, drugs, political candidates, and spam/scam messages are strictly prohibited. - Commercial ads, surveys, and push messages require prior subscriber consent or opt-in. - Ads promoting nudity, profanity, violence, or substance abuse are illegal under Philippine law. - SMS with URL shorteners are blocked; use full URLs to avoid fraud. - For specific sender ID's it should be indicated if its promotional or transactional traffic. - Avoid forbidden words related to adult content, alcohol, drugs, gambling, elections, and tobacco. 1. Tobacco and Alcohol Advertising: Promotional messages related to tobacco and alcohol are not allowed, in line with public health laws like the Tobacco Regulation Act (RA 9211). 2. Illegal or Harmful Activities: Messages promoting drugs, gambling (except regulated lotteries), and other illegal activities are prohibited. 3. Scams and Fraudulent Content: Misleading messages or scams are strictly forbidden under the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175). 4. Obscene or Indecent Content: Messages containing profanity, sexually explicit material, or offensive content are banned. 5. Election related Content
Extra Information	Sender ID registration required. Unicode is not supported. Supported and non supported features and for SMS: Dynamic Sender ID is not supported. Sender ID Brands classified as Premium Sender IDs as well as Generic Sender IDs are prohibited on the domestic route. When registering a Sender ID, it may be considered as a Premium Sender ID if the following are met. 1. If the company's or parent company's primary headquarters are based outside the Philippines or 2. If the company is partially owned or controlled by an entity headquartered outside the Philippines and/or 3. If the company conducts activities (also through its representative offices/affiliated companies) in two or more countries of the world; or 4. If the company is using an international branding or has a cooperation with an international company; or 5. If the messages are sent from unidentified numbers and generic names/SIDs, they will be tagged as international by default.

Department of Information and Communications Technology: https://dict.gov.ph/

Supported and non supported features and for SMS:

Handset delivery receipts are not readily available. In fact, for delivery receipts, Spam filters often return fake delivery receipts and do not discriminate between spam and legitimate traffic. Live handset DLRs are not readily available but can be provided upon request.
Dynamic Sender ID is not supported. Sender ID Brands classified as Premium Sender IDs as well as Generic Sender IDs are prohibited on the domestic route.
Unicode is not supported.
Concatenated messages are supported to a maximum of 3 parts.
Financial (OTP/ Transactional) SMS should include the company name in the content of the message.

To register your Sender ID, click here.

SINGAPORE SMS: Products and Compliance

Singapore

Sender ID	Alpha, Alpha Numeric, Numeric
Dialing code	65
Major Carriers	SingTel, M1, StarHub, SIMBA
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Settup Time	< 5 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Long Code and Short Code)
Country Regulations	All Sender IDs/Longcode/Shortcode must be whitelisted with SGNic Non-whitelisted Sender IDs/Longcode/Shortcode will be overwritten to Likely-SCAM
Country Restrictions	Unsolicited SMS or calls from unknown sources that are related to loans, financial assistance, adult content or online gambling/betting are prohibited.
Extra Information	Enabling of Sender ID/ Long Code/Short Code is required

Regulations

IMDA will be implementing the Full SMS Sender ID Registration starting from 31 January 2023. Under the Full SSIR Regime, organisations that wish to send SMS messages to Singapore mobile numbers must first register their alphanumeric Sender IDs. Only registered Sender IDs will reach Singapore users with effect from 31 January 2023. Find out more about the process by downloading our one-pager.
With effect from 31 January 2023, all Sender IDs that is not registered with the SSIR, Sender ID will be overwritten to "Likely-SCAM"
With effect from 2 January 2014, Organisations must check with the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to ensure that the Singapore telephone numbers that they are sending telemarketing messages to are not listed in the Registry - https://www.dnc.gov.sg/index.html
Under the advertising rules, which took effect on 1 November 2011, licensed moneylenders are not permitted to advertise their services via SMS - https://rom.mlaw.gov.sg/files/Advertising-&-Marketing-Directions.pdf

Reference:

8x8 - IMDA To Implement Full SenderID Registration

SMS Sender ID Registry

Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions (PDPC)

Telecommunications Act (Chap 323)

SOUTH KOREA SMS: Products and Compliance

South Korea

Sender ID	Numeric 001 / 006 / 00777 is added as a prefix for senders. e.g. 001/006/00777-XXXXXXXX
Dialing code	82
Major Carriers	KT Freetel, SK Telecom, LG Telecom
Message length	140 bytes (70 Unicode characters, 140 English characters)
Support for Concatenated message	Not supported
Setup Time	-
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Short Code)
Country Regulations	There is no specific regulations.
Country Restrictions	For International SMS, every message will automatically append "[국제발신]" at the front of the content ("[국제발신]" DOES NOT include in the maximum message length) Prohibited Content: The following types of messaging on all SMS messaging products are all prohibited: Spam Adult content Religious Messages Political messages
Extra Information	No Sender ID Registration required (Support numeric Sender ID only. Alpha senders are replaced with numeric Sender ID.)

TAIWAN SMS: Products and Compliance

Taiwan

Sender ID	All Sender IDs overwritten to Long Code
Dialling code	886
Major Carriers	Far EasTone, Asia Pacific Telecom, Star Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile
Message length	GSM7: 160 characters Unicode: 70 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	7-14 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Long Code)
Country Regulations	Penalty INDEMNIFICATION. Client shall fully indemnify 8x8 for any claim or loss raised by a third party, or any fines or penalties by any governmental authority, caused by any non-compliance with any provisions of the Agreement. In the event that a competent government authority suspects that any assigned mobile phone number is used for illegal or fraudulent purpose (including, but not limited to Spam, Smishing, Faking, Flooding, etc.), and therefore, prohibit the use of such number (the “Claimed Fraudulent Event”), the following will apply: A. The fraudulent number shall be suspended immediately, but will be recovered through a new number after the competent authority confirms the Claimed Fraudulent Event to be untrue. The Company shall pay NT$ 30,000 for handling the suspension. If 5 or more sender IDs are involved, a fine of NT50,000 per sender ID plus freeze of sender ID registration for 2 months shall be imposed. B. If the Claimed Fraudulent Event occurs again thereafter, no new number will be assigned to the Company for at least six (6) months; and C. If the Claimed Fraudulent Event is confirmed to be true by the Authority, Company shall compensate 8x8 the amount calculated as US$3.5 per fraudulent SMS. 8x8 reserves the right to recover any additional costs incurred due to investigating and resolving the spam SMS issue, including legal fees and administrative expenses, from the customer responsible for the violation. The customer shall not be eligible for any refunds, reimbursements, or compensation for services rendered in case of penalty imposition due to sending spam SMS messages. To be applied for reseller clients only
Country Restrictions	There is no Sender ID, Sender ID will be overwritten with LC Required to check the content with Sender ID team before sending traffic Content is needed to be validated by the Suppliers Message content with URL/short URL: may be blocked
Extra Information	Pre-check of contents required

References:
National Communications Commission

THAILAND SMS: Products and Compliance

Thailand

Sender ID	Alphanumeric
Dialing code	66
Major Carriers	CAT, DTAC, True Move, AIS, TOT
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	Supported
Setup Time	5-10 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Short Code and Long Code)
Country Regulations	DND exists. Opt out is on the MNO side, implemented in a way that each subscriber has the option to opt out of receiving promo traffic by calling a short number and selecting this option.
Country Restrictions	Generic Sender ID is NOT ALLOWED towards Thailand
Extra Information	Sender ID registration required. Unicode is supported, "Space" character is not supported by some devices. As a result, they will be removed automatically. We advise using "-" character instead of space. Underscores ("_") characters are also not accepted.

SMS Compliance

Whitelisting transactional sender ID

To ensure that messages of OTP, transactions, security or notifications are delivered

VIETNAM SMS: Products and Compliance

Vietnam

Sender ID	Alpha
Dialing code	84
Major Carriers	Mobifone, Vinaphone, Viettel, Vietnamobile, GTEL, Indochina Telecom, Reddi
Message length	160 characters
Support for Concatenated message	-
Setup Time	> 20 Business Days
Support for Two Way SMS	Yes (Short Code)
Country Regulations	All Sender IDs must be registered and content must be whitelisted
Country Restrictions	Gambling, gaming, sex, politics, tobacco, alcohol, and beer content is forbidden.
Extra Information	SMS Compliance: Mobifone and Vinaphone All content needs to be whitelisted to ensure delivery. For Advertising content, Certificate of Identifiers would need to be obtained from the Authority of Information Security.