Nepal SMS Guide - sms-compliance -

Frequently Asked Questions

Use a registered SMS API provider like Twilio, Sinch, or Bird, ensuring your sender ID is pre-registered with Nepal Telecom or Ncell. Format recipient numbers in E.164 format (+977...) and comply with content and sending regulations.
Nepal's mobile market is dominated by Nepal Telecom and Ncell. While OTT apps are popular, SMS remains crucial for reaching wider audiences, especially in rural areas with limited internet access.
Due to current regulations and technical infrastructure limitations, two-way SMS is not supported. Businesses should focus on one-way communication strategies.
Adhere to Nepal's time zone (UTC+5:45) and send messages between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. Avoid sending during major holidays and festivals unless it's urgent, like OTP messages.
No, explicit consent is required before sending marketing or promotional messages in Nepal. Maintain records of consent and offer clear opt-out instructions in both English and Nepali.
Nepal supports concatenated SMS with standard length limits (160 characters for GSM-7, 70 for UCS-2). Both encodings are supported, but UCS-2 is recommended for Nepali script.
Pre-registration is required for alphanumeric sender IDs with both Nepal Telecom and Ncell. This involves submitting documentation and business verification.
Honor opt-out requests (STOP, BAND, HELP, SAHAYOG, CANCEL, RADDA) within 24 hours. Maintain a suppression list and ensure opted-out numbers are not contacted again.
Gambling, adult content, unauthorized financial services, political messaging without authorization, and social invites are restricted. Content filtering is implemented by carriers.
Initialize the Twilio client with your credentials, format the recipient number in E.164 format, and use the client's messages.create method with your message and pre-registered sender ID.
Carriers implement limits of roughly 10-20 messages per second per sender ID, with daily and concurrent request limits varying. Use queuing and backoff strategies for large-scale sending.
Use the E.164 format, which includes the country code +977 followed by the 9-digit mobile number. Ensure the number starts with +977 to avoid delivery failures.
Twilio, Sinch, and Bird offer SMS APIs with features like pre-registered sender ID support, delivery reporting, and handling of Nepali script.
MMS is not directly supported. Attempts to send MMS will result in conversion to SMS with a URL link to the multimedia content for device compatibility.
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