Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for A2P SMS

Content Template Validation 12Template Format for Transactional 12Template Format for Service Implicit 13Template Format for Service Explicit 13Template Format for Promotional 14

Preamble 1

Inception of DLT 1

Phases of DLT 2

Registration of Business Entity 2Message Header Registration 2Message Template Registration 3

Message Header Definition 5

Promotional Headers 5Other 6

C Other - Government 6Message Template Definition 7

O Transactional Template 7 Service Implicit Template 8

MService Explicit Template 9Promotional Template 9

Consent Template Creation 11

P Content Template Creation 11

E ND IUM

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

Preamble

This document comprises of various DLT information viz template registration,template creation, consent upload, header definition, template definition and thestep by step process as prescribed by TRAI under block chain system.

Inception of DLT

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its continuous endeavour tocreate a cleaner and transparent system in the Indian telecom industry hasreleased a new regulation in July 2018 to curb Unsolicited CommercialCommunication (UCC) and enhance mobile subscriber privacy, TCCCPR 18Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation 2018,The Regulation is intended to eliminate spam and fraud which has been a concernfor many years. The regulation has mandated the use of Blockchain technologyalso known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to implement the solution.

Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) is to be deployed todevelop a marketplace enabling stakeholders (Operators, Delivery Partners,Telemarketers, and Enterprises) to transact and exchange value with trust basedupon smart provenance and governance. These technologies provide a secure,decentralized audit infrastructure. A distributed ledger marketplace can storesuch transactions (who uses what) in an immutable environment.

As per the telecom commercial communication customer preference regulation2018 (TCCCPR 2018), The DLT platform must be deployed across the telecomoperators in India. As per the TRAI regulation on the domestic A2P messaging,all messages should pass through the DLT platform so that stakeholders canmanage unsolicited commercial communications and can comply withguidelines.

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Phases of DLT

DLT implementation is a tedious task to deploy during active communication,currently there are 30+ billion A2P messages are being processed month onmonth basis in India. Therefore, the implementation is planned in such a waythat multiple phases will cover all functionality of DLT in step by step processwithout hampering these humongous amount of messaging transactions.

Registration of Business Entity

It is the very first step and known as phase 1, wherein every business entitywho involved in A2P messaging be it Delivery partners, Telemarketers, orEnterprises should register themselves on DLT platform. The step by stepprocess is as below:

Step 1:

Go to any of the below links and register yourself

1. Airtel: https://dltconnect.airtel.in/2. BSNL: https://www.ucc-bsnl.co.in/3. Jio: https://trueconnect.jio.com/#/4. MTNL: www.ucc-mtnl.in5. Tata: https://telemarketer.tatateleservices.com:8082/6. VIDEOCON: https://pingconnect.in/entity/register-with7. Vodafone: https://www.vilpower.in/

While registering please keep below documents handy for account approval:

1. Company PAN Card2. GST3. LOA4. ID of authorized personnel

Step 2:

Once you registered on any of the above Telcom operator you will get an entityID on account approval. Please take that entity id and register on other portalswith the help of same approved entity ID.

Message Header Registration

Once your account has been approved and active you are good to go for SenderID or Message Header registration by following step by step process.

Step 1:

Login into to DLT portal using unique account credentials provided by respectivetelecom operator at the time of registration.

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Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for A2P SMS

https://dltconnect.airtel.in/

https://www.ucc-bsnl.co.in/

https://trueconnect.jio.com/%23/

http://www.ucc-mtnl.in/

https://pingconnect.in/entity/register-with

https://www.vilpower.in/

Step 2:

Sender ID or Message Header needs to be registered at any of one portal and it will sync automatically by itself across all other portals.

Step 3:

Please use Alpha ender id (6 character) for: transactional, service implicit and service explicit, while 6 character numeric for promotional.

Aside sender id should make some sense with your entity name or any of productyou own, otherwise it won’t get approved. Generic sender ids aren’t allowed foranyone. Once sender ids approved make sure you push traffic through thosesender ids only and traffic coming via any other sender id will drop.

Message Template Registration

Once you are done with header registration the next phase would be to provideor approve message templates. Please gather all your templates/ messagecontent and start uploading them under different categories i.e Transactional/Service Implicit/Service Explicit/Promotional. Aside for Service explicit andPromotional Messages a special template named as consent template need tobe uploaded and approved.

You need to upload these templates at any one for the DLT platform and templates will get synced across all other DLT portals or platforms.

Follow below steps to upload transactional and service implicit templates:

1. Login to the portal using your account credentials provided by operator.2. Go to the template section and select the Template type i.e. Transactional

or Service Implicit.3. Select all the sender IDs with which you want to link a template with.

4. Provide template name (place a unique name for each template for your reference) & select Template message type such as Text or Unicode.

5. Provide the template content, use the push button named “Insert Variable”to place variables (1 variable is of 20 characters accordingly choose no of variables required).

6. Save the template to send to approval to DLT registrar.

Follow below steps to upload service explicit and promotional templates:

1. Login to the portal using your account credentials provided by operator.

2. Go to consent template section provide the details an upload consent template and save wait till it get approved by DLT registrar.

3. Go to the template section and select the Template type i.e. Service Explicit or Promotional.

4. Select all the sender IDs with which you want to link a template with.5. Select the approved consent template with which you want to link a

message content with.

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6. Provide template name (place a unique name for each template for your reference) & select Template message type such as Text or Unicode.

7. Provide the template content, use the push button named “Insert Variable”to place variables (1 variable is of 20 characters accordingly choose no of variables required).

8. Save the template to send to approval to DLT registrar.

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Message Header Definition

Message header famously known as Sender ID has been categorised into 3 different types as following:

1. Promotional2. Other3. Other- Government

Promotional Headers

Messages Headers that can be used for sending Promotional messages fall underpromotional type. Promotional message means commercial communication thatcan be sent to a mobile subscriber whose preferences are not set (not on DND)Or, any commercial communication that an enterprise can send to an intendedrecipient after taking consent to send such messages.

Sample: 123980, 265467, 398765, 453123

Promotional headers should comprise with 6 numeric characters and start with the number that matches with the category prescribed by DND preference.

1. Banking/Insurance/Financial products/ credit cards (Number assigned is 1).

Example: 123765, 154326

2. Real Estate (Number assigned is 2)

Example: 234567, 276543

3. Education (Number assigned is 3)

Example: 387965, 345673

4. Health (Number assigned is 4)

Example: 457864, 443765

5. Consumer goods and automobiles (Number assigned is 5)

Example: 509875, 587654

6. Communication/Broadcasting / Entertainment/IT (Number assigned is 6)

Example: 667890, 676543

7. Tourism and Leisure (Number assigned is 7)

Example: 797657, 765432

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8. Food and Beverages (Number assigned is 8)

Example: 876543, 854321

9. Others – Category that doesn’t appear in 1-8 (Number assigned is 1 (Zero)).

Example: 087654, 012345

Other

Headers that can be used for sending Transactional, Service Implicit and ServiceExplicit message fall under other type. Same Header can be used against allthree type of messages.

Sample: Abcde, AbcDe, aBCDE, ABCDE, abcdE etc.

Other headers should comprise of 5 case sensitive alpha characters.

Transactional Header:

Message which contains One Time Password (OTP) and requires to complete abanking transaction initiated by the bank customer. This is applicable to all banksincluding national/ scheduled/ private/ Govt. and MNC banks.

Sample: HDFCBK, ICICIB, BKDENA, KOTAKB, AIRBNK

Service Implicit Header:

Messages arising out of customer’s actions or his relationship with the Sender,that is not promotional, and is not in the interest of the customer to block suchcommunications. These messages may or may not be triggered by a subscriber-initiated transaction and will not be blocked for subscribers who have otherwiseblocked service messages also.

Sample: iPaytm, JioPay, RAJSMS, GREYTI, KISSHT, BAJAJF

Service Explicit Header:

Any service message which doesn’t fall under the category of service implicit willbe sent only against service explicit, digitally verified/verifiable consent that hasbeen taken from the subscriber by the respective enterprise.

Sample: GREYTI, FBloan, SPRcrd, MAXLIF

Other - Government

Only Government entities can register these Headers that can be used forsending Transactional, Service Implicit and Service Explicit messages.

Sample: 1222, 17878, 14444, 10101010

Other govt headers can be in any length from 3-9 numeric characters and shouldstart with 1 only.

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Message Template Definition

Message template also known as SMS content has been widely defined under DLT. To understand this in detail we need to classify it into two broad categories:

1. Consent Template2. Content Template

Consent Template:

Standard message that is sent to end users of the enterprise for their consentto receive communications from respective enterprise. It shouldn’t contain anyactual message content. This is a sort of Opt-in confirmation to end user, OptOut procedure can also be given in the template.

Sample SMS Template:

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We would like to send communication regarding all marketing offers and events to our registered customers.

“XYZ Limited” needs your consent in order to serve you better. We may send youmessages about your account information, activity, and our best offers.

We will send you updates, transactions, recommendations of our services or products being a registered customer with us.

Content Template:

Standard message that is sent to end users of the enterprise for their course ofaction or benefit as notification, alert, offer, discount, or any other use. Thesemessages can be bifurcated into four further categories:

1. Transactional2. Service Implicit3. Service Explicit4. Promotional

Transactional Template

Message which contains One Time Password (OTP) and requires to complete abanking transaction initiated by the bank customer. This is applicable to all banksincluding national/ scheduled/ private/ Govt. and MNC banks.

It can be understood by following example:

1. OTP SMS required for completing a net-banking transaction.2. OTP SMS required for completing credit/debit card transaction at a

merchant location.

Sample SMS template:

965439 is the OTP for transaction of INR 87650 at XYZ App with your card XXXXX1234. OTP is valid for 10 mins. Pls do not share it with anyone.

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9876543 is OTP for transaction of INR 5463 at ABC enterprises on XYZ Bank

Credit Card XXXX1234. DO NOT disclose it to anyone. XYZ Bank NEVER asks for OTP.

Service Implicit Template

Messages arising out of customer’s actions or his relationship with the Sender,that is not promotional, and is not in the interest of the customer to block suchcommunications. These messages may or may not be triggered by a subscriber-initiated transaction and will not be blocked for subscribers who have otherwiseblocked service messages also.

Following can be the type of such messages:

1. OTP required for e-commerce website, app login, social media apps,authentication/ verification links, securities trading, demat accountoperations, KYC, e-wallet registration, etc. KYC, etc.

2. Confirmation messages of a net banking or a credit/debit transaction.3. Product purchase confirmation.4. Delivery status of a parcel.

5. Customer making payments through Payment Wallet over E-Commerce website / mobile app and an OTP is sent to complete the transaction.

6. Messages from schools regarding attendance/transport.7. Periodic balance info, bill generation, bill dispatch, due date reminders,

recharge confirmation (DTH, cable, prepaid electricity recharge, etc)8. Messages from hospitals/clinics regarding appointment/discharge reports.9. Service messages from car workshops, gadget service centres.10.Day-end/ month-end settlement alerts to securities/demat account

holders.11.Govt./TRAI/DoT mandated messages, advisories, messages from state

Govt., LEAs, local authorities, traffic advisories, electioncommission, disaster management advisories.

12. Messages from TSP/ISP.13.Messages from hospitals/clinics/pharmacies/pathologists about

registration, appointment, discharge, reports.


Your A/C no. XXXXX980 has been debited by Rs. 9087 The A/C balance is Rs. 87690 on 12 Jan 2050 reference no 987******0.

Your mobile phone bill has been generated please click here <URL> to check the detailed bill

Dear Customer, as per your request, contact details have been updated against your insurance account.

Dear Customer, your order has been picked up by the delivery boy and is on his way. Your delicious pizza is reaching early! Track here <URL>

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Please wear mask while going out of and use sanitizer. Stay home stay safe.

Service Explicit Template

These are the messages which requires explicit consent from customer, that hasbeen verified directly from the recipient in robust and verifiable manner andrecorded by consent registrar. Any service message which doesn’t fall underservice-implicit category.

Additionally, customer consent template needs to be linked to content templates in service explicit category.

Following can be the type of such messages:

1. Any special day greetings or wishes to existing customers or subscribe users.

2. Reminders for reward points, cash rewards etc.


Dear Shailesh, your exclusive voucher of INR 5000 is unused please redeemed it

on your next purchase with XYZ stores.

Hi Waris, In order to best serve you and others, could you click on <URL> to

share your experience with XYZ solutions.

Dear Hemangi, based on your values relationship, we are approving a per-approved Home Loan up to Rs. 2 Crore. Click here <URL>. Regards, ABC Finance. T&C.

Dear Rahul, XYZ company wants to wish you a very happy marriage anniversary.

Promotional Template

Any message with an intention to promote or sell a product, goods, or service.Service content mixed with promotional content is also treated as promotional.These messages will be sent to customers after performing the preference andconsent scrubbing function. Additionally, customer consent template needs tobe linked to content templates in service explicit category and the mobilesubscriber has not set his preference on DND.

Following can be type of promotional messages:

1. Discounts and offers promotion to non DND subscriber with consent.

Sample SMS Templates:

Lifetime Free XYZ Bank Credit Card with Vouchers from ABC, QWE, worthRs.3000. SMS “apply” to 9876543210 TnC apply

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You can win Rs 20,000 in Fantasy cricket use code 987654. Install ABC app now to Win Click - <URL>

Get MY DIET by Dr Esha & lose up-to 10Kg. No exercise. No machine. First free consultation Click <URL>. To revoke consent, send SMS as REVOKE to 1909

Now avail a flat 50% discount on your today’s shopping at XYZ company. Call Toll Free 1800XXXXX00 *T&C.

Mega Sale on 27 & 29 Oct Get up to 80% OFF on over 100 brands. Register & getEXTRA Rs. 100/- OFF. Give missed call to 982XXXX234. TnC

Consent Template Creation

While creating consent template please follow below Do’s and Don’ts:

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DO’s DON’Ts

Choose short name to a template which is relevant. This helps in

choosing right consent template while creating content templates in promotional or service explicit

categories.

Multiple consents not required by entity unless it is required by

enterprise, like example mentioned explaining brand name field.

Brand name should be relevant to details mentioned in scope of

content.

Not to use generic names fortemplates like “template1; etc..”

Scope of content should be relevant to mentioned brand & intent of the

consent to be mentioned.

No variable to be used in scope of consent, as variable applicable to

content templates only.

If entity wants to provide opt-out information, that needs to be

provided completely. Ex: “To opt-out, send SMS as STOP to

982*****91”

Not to mention invalid or irrelevant names under brand. This will be

treated as invalid template.

Content Template Creation

While creating content template please follow below Do’s and Don’ts:

DO’s DON’Ts

Use promotional category for communications intended to send from numerical sender id only.

Not linking consent templates for content template categories

“promotional” & “service – explicit”.

Transactional category to be used by banking enterprises only & for OTP

messages during fund transfer; online payment; merchant

transaction only.

Using double spaces in templates (this can be pre-checked by verifying the template on notepad++ before

template submission).

Service – explicit category needs to link consent template as well, without

which the template gets rejected.

Header selection against irrelevant templates.

Choose a relevant/recognizable name for templates.

Selecting “Transactional” category bynon-banking enterprises.

Use message type as “TEXT” for all general messages & “Unicode” for regional or vernacular messages.

Same content template against multiple headers.

Variable {variable} insertion to berequired against values like date;amount; a/c no; OTP; names; etc.

Templates with less than 6 char or variable insertion alone as template.

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Content Template Validation

1. Please validate following before creating a content template:2. 2 or more spaces are not supposed to use between 2 words, before word

or after word.3. All special characters are being allowed currently.4. Variable format is {variable} which is case sensitive.5. Transactional/Service category messages should have variable

mandatorily.6. Promotional category can have complete fixed content or with variable

part.7. There is no limitation in no. of variable per message.8. Values like amount, date, a/c no, merchant names, OTP, codes, URL,

customer names, card type, etc. needs to be replaced with variables.

Template Format for Transactional

While uploading transactional template please ensure it should be following format:

Sender ID/Message Header: should consist of 6 case sensitive alpha characters.

Template Format Actual Message

{variable} is the OTP for transaction of INR {variable} at {variable} with

your {variable} card number{variable}. OTP is valid for 10 mins.

Pls do not share it with anyone.

965439 is the OTP for transaction of INR 87650 at XYZ App with your ABC card XXXXX1234. OTP is valid for 10

mins. Pls do not share it with anyone.

{variable} is OTP for transaction of INR {variable} at {variable} on

{variable} Credit Card {variable}. DO NOT disclose it to anyone. XYZ

Bank NEVER asks for OTP.

9876543 is OTP for transaction of INR 5463 at ABC enterprises on XYZ Bank

Credit Card XXXX1234. DO NOT disclose it to anyone. XYZ Bank

NEVER asks for OTP.

Template Format for Service Implicit

While uploading service implicit template please ensure it should be following format:


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Your A/C no. {variable} has been debited by Rs. {variable} The A/C

balance is Rs. {variable} on{variable} reference no {variable}.

Your A/C no. XXXXX980 has been debited by Rs. 9087 The A/C balance

is Rs. 87690 on 12 Jan 2020reference no 9********0.

Your mobile number {variable} bill has been generated please click here{variable} to check the detailed bill.

Your mobile number 9829XXXX91 bill has been generated please click here www.airtel.com to check the detailed

bill.

Dear {variable}, as per your request, contact details mobile no {variable}

have been updated against your insurance account no {variable}.

Dear Ramesh, as per your request, contact details mobile no

9829XXXX91 have been updated against your insurance account no

XXX910.

Dear {variable}, your order no{variable} has been picked up by the delivery boy {variable} and is on his way. Your delicious pizza is reaching

early! Track here {variable}

Dear Dinesh, your order no 12345 has been picked up by the delivery boy Mahesh and is on his way. Your

delicious pizza is reaching early!Track here www.dominos.com

Template Format for Service Explicit

While uploading service explicit template please ensure it should be following format:



Dear {variable}, your exclusive voucher of INR {variable} is unused

please redeemed it on your next purchase with Life stores.

Dear Suresh, your exclusive voucher of INR 5000 is unused please

redeemed it on your next purchase with Life stores.

Hi {variable}, In order to best serve you and others, could you click on{variable} to share your experience

with our organization.

Hi Mukesh, In order to best serve you and others, could you click on

www.kfc.com to share your experience with kfc.

http://www.airtel.com/

http://www.dominos.com/

http://www.pridewebtech.com/

Dear {variable}, based on your values relationship, we are approving a per-approved {variable} loan up to Rs. {variable}. Click here {variable}

Regards, Loan Finance. T&C.

Dear Srishti, based on your values relationship, we are approving a per-

approved Home Loan up to Rs.5000000. Click here www.loan.com

Regards, Loan Finance. T&C.

Dear {variable}, telspiel wants to wish you an incredibly happy

marriage anniversary.

Dear Shailesh, telspiel wants to wish you an incredibly happy marriage

anniversary.

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Template Format for Promotional

While uploading promotional template please ensure it should be followingformat:

Sender ID/Message Header: should consist of 6 numeric characters and shouldstart with the number that matches with the category prescribed by DNDpreference.


Lifetime Free {variable} Bank Credit Card with Vouchers from {variable} worth Rs.{variable}. SMS {variable}

to 987****210 TnC apply

Lifetime Free XYZ Bank Credit Card with Vouchers from ABC worth

Rs.3000. SMS “apply” to 9*****3210TnC apply

You can win Rs {variable} in Fantasy cricket use code {variable}. Install

ABC app now to Win Click {variable}

You can win Rs 20,000 in Fantasy cricket use code 987654. Install ABC app now to Win Click www.abc.in

Now avail a flat {variable} discount on your today’s shopping at XYZ

company. Call Toll Free {variable}*T&C.

Now avail a flat 50% discount on your today’s shopping at XYZ

company. Call Toll Free 180018000000 *T&C.

Get my diet by {variable} & lose up-to 10Kg. No exercise. No machine.

First free consultation Click{variable} To revoke consent, send

SMS as {variable} to 1909

Get my diet by Dr. Manisha & lose up-to 10Kg. No exercise. No

machine. First free consultation Click www.doctor.in To revoke consent,

send SMS as REVOKE to 1909

{variable} Sale on 27 & 29 Oct Getup to {variable} OFF on over

{variable} brands. Register & getEXTRA Rs. {variable} OFF. Givemissed call to {variable}. TnC

Mega Sale on 27 & 29 Oct Get up to 80% OFF on over 100 brands.

Register & get EXTRA Rs. 100/- OFF. Give missed call to 9*****1245. TnC

http://www.loan.com/

http://www.abc.in/

http://www.doctor.in/

Documents

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for A2P SMS