Personalised SMS alphanumeric sender (Alias): new AGCOM rules

From 16/10/2013 the Resolution No. 42/13/CIR of the AGCOM (Communications Guarantor Authority) concerning the rules for testing the Alias which is the text sender (string of maximum 11 characters as per GSM standard) that you normally use as the sender of your SMS messages.

The spirit of the resolution is to allow subscribers of mobile communication services to be able to trace the actual sender of the SMS via a simple call to the customer service of their telephone operator. In practice, a database will be activated at AGCOM for the collection of personal information relating to the Aliases used and the companies that use them.

Any Customer who wishes to use a text Alias as the sender of their SMS messages must previously communicate to AGCOM, through Tokydigital srl, the personal data and a contact point relating to the Alias used.

If the sender is not registered for sending the SMS message, it will not be possible to send SMS with an alphanumeric or alias sender.

The Resolution also establishes that Aliases can only be used for "non-consumer" subjects or those in possession of a VAT number or numerical tax code (e.g. associations and non-profit organizations). A "consumer" customer registered with his own tax code who uses the SMS delivery service can no longer use an alphanumeric sender or Alias but can continue to send his messages with a numeric sender, for example his own cellphone number.

Some questions for possible usage concerns

What do I have to do as a company to register my personalized alias?

Before sending text messages with alphanumeric senders (also known as aliases), you need to register your aliases.

The procedure for registering alphanumeric senders on the AGCOM Databases is integrated within the Tokydigital Omnichannel interface, in the SENDER Request, directly from the SMS sending console or in the profile area.

To register your alphanumeric Senders or those of your Customers, simply access Tokydigital Omnichannel, in your reserved area, go to
Campaigns > Sending to own customers > New Campaign > Add Sender
Once the request has been sent, Tokydigital srl will check whether the requested sender can be activated or not.

The same is associated with the corporate brand (in the case of Franchises, Points of sale, etc., which do not own the brand but use it, in order to use it, they must send brand authorization in their favor for its use and send it to the amministrazione@tokydigital.it

I don't have a VAT number or numerical tax code, what will change?

If, on the other hand, you are a private individual (without a VAT number or numeric tax code), you will have to give up sending with alphanumeric senders or ALIAS, as sender but you can continue to use an existing mobile phone number.

You are an association or consortium, what will change?

If, on the other hand, you are an association and/or consortium (numerical tax code) and the explicit company name of the association, in this case authorization is issued for the use of the association and/or consortium brand, as the use in the company name is explicit .

Is it possible to register ALIAS also via API for those who use the SMS Gateway?

The same will be implemented shortly and will be available as soon as the developer area is active

Can I register my ALIAS directly with AGCOM?

No, in order to access the AGCOM DB you must be an authorized operator and registered in the Register of Communication Operators. The procedure for registering the alphanumeric senders of your SMS messages (also called Aliases) on the AGCOM Databases is integrated within Tokydigital Omnichannel.

I send SMS using my mobile or landline number, do I have to register that too with AGCOM?

NO, the mobile number or landline number are not Alias

I send the SMS online, do I have to communicate something to AGCOM?

NO, SMS online do not have customizable sender and therefore do not contain any Alias.

Will I then be able to continue using any sender as I did before?

If you have a VAT number, the important thing is that they are not "generic" senders, such as "restaurant", "promotion", "info"... they must be explanatory of the company and owner of the treatment.

Can the same alias be assigned to multiple companies?

Yes

I am a reseller/agency, what should I do?

Each alias must report the final company's registry and not the reseller's one.

Who will be able to access the AGCOM DB?

All data entered will be used exclusively for registration in the AGCOM DB, which will be available for consultation only with individual requests from mobile operators (Vodafone, Tim, Wind, H3G...) and their customer care. These will be able to query it by entering an ALIAS (eg ABC) and receiving as a result the data of the ABC company (without details on who entered it as a mobile company).

When will the new regulation actually come into effect?

The Agcom resolution is already in force. To register your alphanumeric Senders or those of your Customers, simply access Tokydigital Omnichannel and follow the registration procedure, for any assistance you can refer to our online support or email to supporto@tokydigital.it

I am a non-Italian company, what should I do?

The Agcom resolution currently concerns the sending of SMS to Italian mobile numbers +39 3XX XXXX XXX. A foreign company that sends SMS messages with an alphanumeric or ALIAS sender must register them in the Agcom database. Conversely, if sending to international mobile phone numbers with a prefix other than +39... nothing needs to be done.