Guyana SMS Guide - sms-compliance -

Frequently Asked Questions

Use an SMS API like Twilio, Sinch, or MessageBird, ensuring the recipient's number is in E.164 format (+592XXXXXXX). Remember that two-way SMS is not supported, so design your strategy around one-way communication.
The Mobile Country Code (MCC) for Guyana is 738. This code is used in conjunction with the Mobile Network Code (MNC) to identify mobile operators within Guyana for routing SMS messages.
The article does not specify the reason why two-way SMS is not supported in Guyana. Businesses should focus their SMS strategy on one-way communications such as notifications and marketing messages.
Adhere to Guyana's local time (GMT-4) and send messages between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. Avoid sending during national holidays and reserve after-hours messaging for urgent situations.
No, sending SMS to landline numbers in Guyana is not possible. Attempts to do so will result in failed delivery with a 400 error code 21614, but you won't be charged.
Alphanumeric sender IDs and international long codes are supported. Domestic long codes and short codes have limited or no support in Guyana.
Obtain clear, documented opt-in consent before sending marketing messages. Include terms and conditions, specify message types and frequency, and keep records of how and when consent was obtained. Although not legally required, consider offering "STOP" and "HELP" commands.
Standard SMS length limits apply: 160 characters for GSM-7 encoding and 70 characters for Unicode. Concatenated messages are supported for longer content, but availability may vary by sender ID type.
MMS messages are automatically converted to SMS with an embedded URL link to the multimedia content. Ensure your content is mobile-optimized and hosted on reliable servers for a good user experience.
The Telecommunications Agency is the primary regulatory authority for telecommunications services, including SMS, in Guyana. They oversee compliance with the Telecommunications Act (Chapter 47:02).
Process opt-out requests, ideally initiated by the user sending "STOP", within 24 hours. Send a confirmation message and maintain detailed records of all opt-outs.
Restricted content includes gambling, adult content, illegal products or services, and unauthorized financial services. Regulated industries like finance and healthcare have specific compliance requirements.
Key best practices include obtaining explicit consent, respecting local time zones, using clear and concise language, personalizing content (when appropriate), and monitoring engagement metrics.
Twilio's rate limit is 250 messages per second, Sinch is 30 messages per second, and MessageBird is 60 messages per second. Implement queuing and backoff strategies for high-volume sending.
Use the E.164 format, which includes the plus sign, country code (592), and the local phone number. For example: +592XXXXXXX.
Loading...