The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made new policies for businesses that send bulk messages to their customers. As per the recent guidelines, the company has to register itself on the DLT platform before sending bulk messages to its customers. 

To register your business go to the DLT Platform. A Business Entity has to register itself on the DLT portal, register Sender IDs, submit message templates, and get their approval before sending Bulk SMS. This is to ensure that everyone follows the rules and guidelines suggested by TRAI.

What is DLT registration?

DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) registration is a government process to keep track of and origin and delivery of SMS to make that the messages are sent & received by the right people. It is like a special permission slip from the government to send messages and to stop spam and fraud. So, by completing the DLT registration, you're following the rules and making sure your messages are safe and reliable.

So, in simple words, DLT registration is a process that businesses and organizations have to do before sending text messages to people in India. It's like getting a special permission slip to make sure the messages are going to the right people, and it uses a special system to keep everything safe and secure.

You can register in any of the DLT platforms among Jio, Vodafone, Airtel, BSNL, MTNL, Videocon, and Tata Teleservices.

DLT operators in India

Jio DLT portal: https://trueconnect.jio.com/

Vodafone DLT portal: https://www.vilpower.in/

Airtel DLT portal: https://dltconnect.airtel.in/

BSNL DLT portal: https://www.ucc-bsnl.co.in/

MTNL DLT portal: https://www.ucc-mtnl.in/

Videocon DLT portal: https://smartping.live/entity/login

Tata Teleservices DLT portal: https://telemarketer.tatateleservices.com:8082/#/

Since all the DLT operators share their data with each other, you can register on any one of the DLT platforms. These platforms are specifically for DLT registration. However, it's important to remember that you will still send your messages from the Bulk SMS Service Provider panel, just like you did before.

How to register on the DLT platform?

Enterprises can register directly on the DLT platform by following the below-given steps. Let’s take the example of JIO DLT.

1. Click on the register now button to register as an Entity in the JIO DLT Platform

• You’ll see the following page, select the Principal Entity option.

• If you’re doing it for the first time, then select NO & fill out the complete form

• Submit the KYC documents & details (Proof of Identity – PAN Card (Business PAN card), proof of Address – GST Certificate, Certificate of Incorporation, TAN Certificate, FSSAI License, Import/Export Registration Certificate, Letter of Authorization).

• After completing the KYC, enter your basic details like mobile number, email address, organization address, etc, and submit the form. After submission, an OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP received to complete the mobile number verification.

• After submission, you need to wait for 2-3 days to receive the approval email. 

How to Add Header in JIO DLT?

The Header is a 6 distinct character combination that represents your brand or company to the reader. In accordance with the updated TRAI DLT regulations for Bulk SMS, the term Header is now used to signify the Sender ID.

There are 2 types of SMS category 

1. Promotional: These messages are used for marketing, and branding purposes to promote a product or service. Promotional SMS is sent to the Non-DND numbers. Headers for sending Promotional SMS should be of six numeric digits and based on the business category. Header Examples for Promotional SMS: 562993, 248751, 495573, 583985, 784321

2.  Others: The others category comprises of transactional, service implicit, and service explicit. Headers for sending these messages should be of 6 alphabetical characters.

• Transactional: As per the latest TRAI guidelines only OTP sent by the banks come under the transactional messages. 
• Service Implicit: All the informative messages except banks OTP comes under this category like purchase updates, order details, payment status, reminders, booking confirmations, etc. 
• Service Explicit: Sending offers, marketing, and branding to your registered users will come under this category. This SMS can be sent to the registered users only after their consent.

Here is the simple process to register a Header on JIO DLT

• To access your Jio DLT SMS portal, please log in. On your dashboard screen, you will find the Header SMS option. Clicking on this tab will display two options: Header SMS Registration and Header SMS Details. Choose the first option, Header SMS Registration.

• Then follow the link, and choose the Header type if your SMS is promotional or other (i.e. explained above)

• Then choose the Header category which suits and fits your business like finance, real estate, others, etc.

• Create a Header Name of six letters representing your company name.

Then, comes the final step to register your content template which you want to send to your customers.
 

How to Add Content Template on JIO DLT?

• Login to the JIO DLT platform, and select the content registration template from the template tab in the dashboard.

• Select the message text route in the Type of Communication which we already discussed above like Promotion, Service Inferred, Service Explicit, and Transactional.

• To proceed, follow these steps: select "SMS" as the Template Type, create a unique Content Template name, choose an approved Header, select the approved Consent ID, and pick your business category from the dropdown list. As you can see in the image below.

• Now add the original Template Content. You can add variables like [#var#] and keep the other part of the SMS as you want to send to your users. 

• After submitting all the details, it may take up to 3-7 working days to approve on the JIO DLT platform. 

Once you see that your content template has been approved, you are then ready to start sending SMSes to your customers – well done!