Does Bandwidth support international SMS messaging?

Follow

Jessica Murray

Updated

Yes! Bandwidth offers global reach to over 1,000 international wireless operators, supporting P2P (peer-to-peer) use cases for US & Canadian local phone numbers. For a complete list of global wireless operators supported, please see our reach list.

In addition to our P2P reach, Bandwidth also supports 119 countries for 1-way A2P SMS and we are expanding our country coverage for 2-way A2P SMS as well. The reach list for A2P Global messaging reach can be found here.

How much does it cost to send SMS to international destinations?

P2P pricing is organized by Zones and you can review our Messaging Carrier Reach Matrix to see what Zone a given country and carrier are in. A2P pricing is organized by country and is reflected in our Global Messaging Reach Matrix. If you're a current Bandwidth customer, please review your contract or contact your Account Manager to see your current rates. If you're not a current Bandwidth customer, please fill out this form or call (844) 567-5048 to reach our sales team directly.

Please review our Product Terms for more information on charges and rate changes.

What appears for the caller ID when sending SMS internationally?

Two-way global messaging uses Bandwidth phone numbers as the source phone number and, in most cases, the caller ID is passed through in order to enable the two-way SMS service. However, there are some situations where the number is replaced by downstream messaging hubs. If you experience this, please open a ticket with your Bandwidth Support Team to investigate.

One-way A2P global messaging uses alphanumeric sender IDs as the source "number". Some destination countries do not support alphanumeric Sender IDs and may convert the ID into a short code or a generic sender ID (such as "Info") based on what is supported in the country.

Can I send long messages internationally?

You may send messages over 160 characters (for GSM-7 encoding) or 70 characters (for UCS-2 encoding) to international phone numbers.

Bandwidth will always segment and send as a concatenated message. In many cases, destination operators support this feature. However, if the receiving carrier doesn't support concatenated SMS, long messages may appear as multiple messages on the destination handset.

Can I send two-factor authentication (2FA) SMS internationally?

Yes, as long as you're contracted for International A2P Messaging. Please reach out to your Account Manager for more information.

How can I enable international SMS on my account?

To add international messaging to your suite of messaging services, please contact your Account Manager. Not sure who your Account Manager is? Please open a ticket with your Bandwidth Support Team or hit us up at (855) 864-7776! 

Article is closed for comments.