Short codes (also known as short numbers) are special telephone numbers, significantly shorter than full telephone numbers, that can be used to address SMS and MMS messages from certain service providers' mobile phones or fixed phones. There are two types of short codes: dialing and messaging. The equivalent for voice calls is known as abbreviated dialing.
Short codes are designed to be easier to read and remember than normal telephone numbers. Like telephone numbers, short codes are unique to each operator at the technological level. Even so, providers generally have agreements to avoid overlaps. In some countries, such as the United States, some classes of numbers are inter-operator (U.S. inter-operator numbers are called common short codes).
Short codes are widely used for value-added services such as television program voting, ordering ringtones, charity donations and mobile services. Messages sent to a short code can be billed at a higher rate than a standard SMS and may even subscribe a customer to a recurring monthly service that will be added to the customer's mobile phone bill until the user texts, for example, the word "STOP" to terminate the service.
Technology
Normal telephone numbers (following the E.164 standard) may be of any length, and so when dialed from landline telephones, the network must apply heuristics to determine when dialing is complete -- in the US, for example, dialed numbers are generally seven or ten digits long, sometimes requiring "1" to be prefixed (the trunk digit). On mobile phones, numbers are terminated with the "Send" or "Call" key and sent all at once over the network, so the network knows the end of the dialed number, and thus one can use short numbers without clashing with longer numbers.
For instance, on a land-line phone, one could not use the short code 12345, since then one could not dial the phone number 1-234-555-4626 (or any other number that shared the prefix 12345), but on a mobile phone there is no such ambiguity.
Short codes and service identifiers (prefix)
Short codes are often associated with automated services. An automated program can handle the response and typically requires the sender to start the message with a command word or prefix. The service then responds to the command appropriately.
In ads or in other printed material where a provider has to inform about both the prefix and the short code number, the advertisement will typically follow this format:
Example 1 - Long version: Text Football to 72404 for latest football news.
Example 2 - Short version: av-alsnet
Regional differences
Alternatives to short codes for SMS reception
An alternative to inbound SMS is based on long numbers (international number format, e.g. +44 7624 805000), which can be used in place of short codes or premium-rated short messages for SMS reception in several applications, such as television voting, product promotions and campaigns. Long numbers are internationally available, as well as enabling businesses to have their own number, rather than short codes which are usually shared across a number of brands. Additionally, long numbers are non-premium inbound numbers.
References
External links
- Australian short code search (Australian Communications and Media Authority)
- Short Code Management Group (U.K.)
- Common Short Code Administration (U.S.)
- Independent US Short Codes WHOIS Directory (U.S.)
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