Russia SMS Guide - sms-compliance -

Frequently Asked Questions

Use a reputable SMS API provider like Twilio, Sinch, MessageBird, or Plivo. Ensure the recipient's number is in E.164 format (+7) and use a registered alphanumeric sender ID. Comply with Russian regulations, including obtaining consent and respecting time zones.
Russia has high SMS adoption rates, with major operators like MTS, MegaFon, Beeline, and Tele2 dominating the market. While OTT apps are popular, SMS remains crucial for business messaging, particularly for authentication and notifications.
Two-way SMS is not supported through standard A2P messaging channels in Russia. Businesses must use alternative communication methods for receiving customer responses.
Send messages between 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM local time. Russia spans 11 time zones, so schedule messages according to the recipient's local time. Emergency notifications are an exception.
No, short codes are not currently supported for SMS messaging in Russia. Neither are domestic or international long codes. Alphanumeric sender IDs are required and must be pre-registered.
Standard SMS messages use GSM-7 encoding with 160 characters per segment. When using UCS-2 for Cyrillic characters, the limit is 70 characters per segment. Concatenated messages are supported for longer content.
Obtain explicit consent before sending marketing messages, respect quiet hours (9 PM to 9 AM local time), and provide clear opt-out instructions in Russian, including STOP, HELP, and UNSUBSCRIBE keywords.
Penalties for sending SMS messages without valid consent can reach up to 500,000 RUB per message. Ensure you maintain proper documentation of consent, including timestamp, source, and scope.
Gambling, alcohol, tobacco, adult content, unauthorized pharmaceuticals, and political campaigns are restricted. Content filtering is enforced, so avoid URL shorteners and ensure content aligns with your registered business profile.
Roskomnadzor, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, oversees SMS regulations in Russia. They manage the Do Not Disturb registry and enforce compliance with Federal Law No. 126-FZ "On Communications".
Process opt-out requests within 24 hours, maintain a centralized opt-out database, provide clear opt-out instructions in Russian, and confirm the opt-out via a confirmation message.
Localize content in Russian, keep messages concise, include a clear call-to-action, personalize content when possible, and limit sending frequency to 2-3 messages per week per recipient.
Alphanumeric sender IDs require pre-registration and are not dynamically allocated. Note that support for registered alphanumeric sender IDs will be discontinued after July 2024 for new registrations.
Standard rate limits are around 30 messages per second, with burst limits up to 100 messages per minute. Daily quotas vary by provider and account type.
Twilio, Sinch, MessageBird, and Plivo offer SMS API integrations for sending messages to Russia. They provide features like delivery reports, alphanumeric sender ID support, and high-volume messaging capabilities.
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