A-Z of Mobile Messaging Industry Jargon & Terminology

Bar Code

A representation of data which is readable by any Smart phone with the right software installed

Bluetooth

A communication tool which enables mobile devices equipped with a special chip to send and receive information wirelessly in short ranges

Bulk SMS

A term used to describe mass SMS sends at one time

Browser

Or web browser. The application that is used to browse websites. Common browsers include Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer

Broadcast Messaging

Sending messages to multiple people at once

Business mobile marketing

Sending messages to promote your product or service. Textlocal offers the most feature rich SMS-based mobile marketing platform.

Business mobile surveys and forms

SMS messaging has a far higher response rate than email (that’s a fact!), so we’ve created the Messenger Forms and Survey tool, which lets you design and create your own mobile forms and surveys.,

Business SMS

The process of sending SMS messages for purely business purposes. You can use Bulk SMS or SMS API messaging for transactional SMS and service implicit messages.

Call to action

A prompt to encourage the reader/user to act upon an invitation to contact, click, message or download

Conversations

A tool within Messenger which allows instant text communications between a Messenger user and a mobile handset

CDMA

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies.

Carrier

The company to which your mobile device connects to, such as Vodafone,Airtel, BSNL, Idea etc.

Click through

The count of mobile users who have clicked on a web link or attachment in your text message

CRM Application

Customer Relationship management application

Characters

The count of letters, numbers, spaces and symbols in your text message

Chatbot

A chatbot is a computer program that is designed to simulate human conversation through text or voice interactions

Customer support

Customer support is a service that businesses provide to assist customers with their inquiries, concerns, and issues, before, during, and after a purchase. It aims to provide a positive experience, satisfaction, and ultimately build customer loyalty

Custom field

Custom fields in SMS allow users to personalize their messages by inserting unique customer information such as names, addresses, order numbers and other variables into the message content

Data Cleansing

A function in Messenger that enables you to locate invalid mobile numbers in your contact list and remove

Documentation

The help documents regarding coding, which you need to integrate in our API gateway

Delivery Report

A report provided by the network used to send the message to inform of it’s delivery status

Dedicated Inbound Number

A virtual mobile number which is used only by you to receive SMS from your customers

DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology)

DLT is a decentralized digital database that stores information across a network of computers, providing security and transparency. It has numerous applications beyond financial transactions, including supply chain management and identity verification. In India, TRAI has implemented a DLT system to regulate commercial SMS messages and prevent unsolicited messages

DLT Registration

TRAI has mandated all businesses that want to send SMS to register their business, headers, and templates on DLT platforms

DND

DND (Do Not Disturb) is a service that allows mobile users to opt-out of receiving promotional messages or calls from telemarketers by registering for the DND complaint

Dual VMNs (Virtual Mobile Number)

Customers can give missed calls and text into (SMS) dual VMNs. Missed calls incur zero costs & for SMS, standard rates apply

Email to SMS

Configure your email account with Messenger and send emails which we will convert to text messages for you

Entity ID

Entity ID (Registration ID) is a unique identification number assigned to each registered entity on the DLT platform. It is required to be registered on the DLT platform before sending any commercial SMS messages to ensure compliance with TRAI regulations

Forms for Mobile

See: Mobile Surveys

Gateway

A gateway is a network point that acts as an entrance to another network.

GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard to describe protocols for digital cellular networks used by mobile phones

Geofencing

A virtual set of boundaries around a certain geographical area

Handset

A mobile phone or device

Header ID

Header ID (Sender ID) is a unique identifier in SMS messaging that indicates the sender of the message, up to a maximum of 6 characters in India. It is mandatory to register Sender ID in India under TRAI guidelines to prevent misuse of SMS for unsolicited and spam messages.

Inbox

An area of your Messenger account where inbound messages are stored

iPhone

Apple’s smartphone device

Invalid Number

A phone number which is no longer in use or has an incorrect amount of digits

Junk

Unsolicited communications

Keyword

A dedicated word to your account that you hold on one of our shared numbers. All messages sent to a shared number need to start with a keyword so our system knows which account to direct the message too

KPI

Key Performance Indicator

KB

Kilo Byte

Language

API different scripts per language

Location Based Services

Mobile marketing directed to people based on their current location

Large SMS Send

See: Bulk SMS

Latency

Latency is the delay between an event’s initiation and observation. In networking, it is the time between a sender’s action and its reception by the receiver, and it affects network performance

Long Code

A long code is a standard 10-digit phone number used for both voice calls and SMS messaging, while SMS short codes are usually 5-6 digit numbers

Missed Call Number

Customers can give missed calls at zero cost to them. The call automatically gets disconnected after 1 ring.

Mobile Web Page / Site

An online page or website that is optimised for mobile browsing.

Mobile Coupon

A coupon that is sent via SMS or mobile web page which can be redeemed at relevant venue

Mobile App

An application written and supported on mobile devices

Mobile Marketing

Marketing to mobile devices

Mobile database

A collection of mobile telephone numbers

Messenger

The online Textlocal service that can be logged into from any internet enabled PC, laptop, Mac or tablet

Mobile Surveys

Surveys or Forms that are optimised for the smaller screens of mobile devices, but still contain a rich set of features.

Native App

An application written for a certain mobile operating system

NFC

Near Field Communication. Some mobiles can now be placed near to chip and pin machines to make a payment

Network Operator

The company to which your mobile device connects to, such as Vodafone, Airtel, BSNL, Idea, etc.

Opt-In, opt-out

The name given to differentiate whether a mobile number has given permission to text them, or if they have chosen to not receive your messages anymore

Omnichannel

Omnichannel contact center integrates all communication channels such as phone, SMS, WhatsApp, online chat, and email to provide seamless customer support, enabling agents to switch between channels without losing context

One-Time Password (OTP)

OTP stands for One-Time Password. It is a security measure used to verify a user’s identity or transaction by sending a unique code to their registered mobile number

P2P SMS

P2P SMS (Person-to-Person SMS) refers to the standard SMS messaging service that allows two individuals to exchange text messages with each other.

Promotional SMS

Promotional SMS is used for sending any offers or promotions to new and existing customers.

Phone notification

Phone notification refers to an alert or message that is sent to a mobile device to notify the user of a particular event or information. This can include push notifications from apps, text messages, WhatsApp, emails, or other types of alerts that are displayed on the user’s phone screen.

Push notifications

Push notifications are short messages sent to a user’s device by a mobile app or website.

QR Code

A quick response code which is a square patterned representation of data which is readable by any Smart phone with the right software downloaded

Receive SMS online

You can receive texts online with Textlocal’s Messenger via one of our inbound numbers.

Receive text messages online

See: Receive SMS online

Reporting

Networks provide reports for SMS messages delivered, undelivered and invalid

ROI

Return on Investment. A way to measure the results of a campaign

Reseller

Reselling the Textlocal service to gain commission

Schedule SMS

Schedule SMS is a feature that allows users to compose and send text messages at a later or more convenient date and time. It’s commonly used in business communication to ensure the timely delivery of messages to customers and clients

Service Explicit SMS

Used for sending offers, discounts, or updates regarding services to existing customers

SDK

SDK stands for “Software Development Kit” and is a collection of tools and resources that developers can use to create software applications for a specific platform or device

Service Implicit SMS

Used for sending OTPs, informational messages, booking and order alerts to registered customers. Not intended for marketing

Sender Name

The name or number that appears as the ‘from’ name on the receiving handset

Social Connect

A function built into Messenger which pushes outbound SMS to your social networks

Short Links

A tool in Messenger that creates shorter web links to use up less characters

Smart Phone

Internet ready mobile phones which can do a lot more than call and send SMS

SMS attachment

SMS attachment is the ability to attach files such as images, videos, audio recordings, PDFs, Docs, PPTs, Excel files,  and GIFs to SMS messages. It allows for the sharing of multimedia content via text messages (up to 10 MB)

SMS

Short message service, a text messaging service for mobile phones

SMS API

A programming interface that enables software applications to send and receive SMS messages

SMS Character Limit

The maximum number of characters that can be included in an SMS message. A single SMS message technically supports up to 160 characters

SMS Delivery

The process of sending SMS messages to the intended recipient’s mobile phone

SMS Gateway

SMS Gateway is a service that enables the exchange of SMS messages between mobile devices and the internet or other digital networks

SMS Notifications

Alerts or updates sent via SMS to provide information to the recipient

SMS Provider

A company that provides SMS messaging services to businesses and individuals

SMS Pricing

The cost associated with sending SMS messages, typically based on the number of messages sent or the volume of messages sent

SMS OTP

SMS OTP (One-Time Password) is a security feature used for two-factor authentication (2FA) that delivers a unique, time-sensitive passcode to the user’s mobile phone via SMS

SMS Surveys and Forms

See: Mobile Surveys

SMS Tracker

A tool used to track the delivery and status of SMS messages

Spam

Unsolicited communications

Staggered delivery / Split delivery

Staggered delivery in SMS is the process of sending messages in smaller batches over a period of time to manage high traffic volumes and prevent network congestion.

Subscription

Agreeing to receive on-going mobile communications from one certain company

Template ID

Template ID in DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) refers to a unique identification number assigned to a specific SMS template approved by the telecom regulator.

Text Application Forms

See: Mobile Surveys

Text Credit

A unit which you can buy in bulk, one credit it worth one 160 character text message

Text Message

A short message service

Text Registration

A persons registration of interest to a product/company via text message

Text to Win

Using an SMS Short Code which people can text with their answer to a competition question

Ticketing

Images which can be sent to mobile handsets to be scanned upon redemption

Toll-Free Number

A toll-free number is a telephone number that allows callers to reach a business or individual without incurring any charges.

Transactional SMS

Used by Banks to send OTPs and alerts.

Two-way SMS (2-way SMS)

2-way SMS is a messaging service that allows users to send and receive text messages in a bi-directional manner. Two-way SMS is commonly used for customer support, surveys, and interactive marketing campaigns

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security process that requires users to provide two different authentication factors to verify their identity.

Upload

Inputting your mobile phone data into your contact base on Messenger via an excel sheet

URL

Uniform Resource Locator

Validity Period

A set time in which your SMS messages will be sent

VoIP/ Voice Activation/Voice Recognition

The translation of spoken words into text

Virtual Phone Number (VPN)

A virtual phone number is a telephone number that is not directly associated with a physical phone line. Instead, it is hosted in the cloud and can be routed to any phone or device, allowing users to make and receive calls or send sms and receive SMS messages from anywhere

Wi-Fi

Wireless local area network allow wireless access to the internet. Needed to send/receive or view Mobile Web Pages

WLAN

WLAN, which stands for Wireless Local Area Network, is when a mobile user connects to a local area network via a wireless connection

XML

Extensible mark-up language