Belgian operators have decided to setup new rules for the usage of short codes in Belgium. Here is a summary of the changes that will happen. If you want more information or if you have any question about this you can contact our support or your account manager.
This page is only a summary of some of the changes, you can find the whole document here: Belgium GOF Guidelines 2023
Note that you have to comply to the rules of the GOF Guidelines for the 1st October 2023.
Transactional vs Marketing messages:
To prevent End users from unsubscribing from functional messages, messages sent for authentication or verification purposes will be sent via a short number dedicated for authentication/verification and separated from other types of traffic such as marketing messages.
New rule for premium Short Code ownership:
Each Paid Message Service must use a dedicated Short Code. Sharing a Short Code for several Paid Message Services is not allowed.
Helpdesk for end-users:
The Service Provider must foresee at least a telephone number and an e-mail address/webform to allow the End user to obtain the necessary information about the service.
The customer service provided by telephone shall be sufficiently staffed during business hours and allow the End user to speak with a real person in the Belgian official language of his/her choice.
If the End user fills in a webform to file a complaint, a copy of the complaint will be automatically sent to the End users e-mail address
New rule for publication of premium Short Codes:
The Service Provider has the obligation to mention the payment method of the offered service on the landing page, indicating clearly that the charges will be added to the End user’s telecom invoice or deducted from his/her call credit.
More information can be found on the dedicated pages :
Publication of General Short Codes / Publication of Subscription Short Codes / Publication of Contest Short Codes
Paid Subscription services:
Double optin will change and will only be initiated via SMS.
- Step 1: The End user sends a free of charge SMS to a dedicated short code. The message contains the End user’s birthdate in format DDMMYYYY.
- Step 2: The End user receives a free of charge SMS containing the next step of the subscription procedure.
- Step 3: The End user receives a free of charge SMS containing the confirmation of the successful subscription.
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