Grey roads and SMS: 6 reasons not to use them for your marketing campaigns

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Poor quality SMS routes that are not allowed by mobile operators are called grey routes . Unlike direct or white routes, grey routes route SMS messages through third countries instead of directly through national networks. This is a way to bypass interconnection fees charged by operators. However, a third country is a country that is not bound by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Here are 6 good reasons to ban this type of routing.

SMS and gray roads
What is a gray road?
If a carrier is offering you a rate for sending your SMS messages that seems too low to be true, it's probably because they're using gray routes . This involves sending SMS messages via SIM cards . SIM farms pool SIM cards together and connect them via modem to computer servers to create a bulk messaging service.

Using a grey route is a practice that consists of sending SMS messages via argentina telemarketing data the networks of another country (while roaming) in order to benefit from lower rates than those of the destination country.

The risks of using grey roads
What’s wrong with using gray routes for bulk SMS ? Well, the consequences are receiving a service that’s as bad as the one you paid for, or even worse. Here are at least 6 reasons why using gray routes can ruin your SMS campaigns:

1/ Retards

2/ No delivery report

3/ Alphanumeric senders not available

4/ Risks related to information security

5/ Special characters not supported

6/ Problems with concatenated messages

Legality and gray roads
Regarding legality and compliance, grey routes are contractually prohibited by mobile phone operators. According to the MMAF (Mobile Marketing Association France), they are not compliant. In addition, they are not compatible with the data protection requirements of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

This is why the use of grey routes, which includes sending bulk SMS messages via SIM cards , is now closely monitored by ARCEP (the French Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority). A firewall is used to track and identify SIM farms.

Grey routes are therefore a controversial practice in the field of mobile communications. Their use can lead to compliance issues, but also security issues.

Gray roads for your SMS? Here are the consequences
Retards
SMS messages sent via grey routes experience delays and may arrive on your contacts’ mobile phones hours after they are sent. This could mean that this could happen at the wrong time for your customers! SMS messages sent via grey routes may not only be blocked and experience delays, but they may also be lost and never reach the recipient.

No delivery reports
SMS sent via this type of routing typically does not provide delivery reports. And when delivery reports are available, they are often fragmentary or inaccurate. Because of this complete lack of traceability, you have no way of knowing whether your message was received.

Alphanumeric senders not available
Compared to a message from a company or a well-known brand, SMS messages sent via grey routes usually cannot be sent by an alphanumeric sender. Random numbers then appear in the sender field. This ultimately gives an unprofessional impression and increases the risk that your message will be treated as spam, not opened or even deleted upon receipt.

Information Security Risks
Grey routes are a major concern because customer information is not secure. Message content can be easily accessed, copied, and modified, making SMS more vulnerable to malicious content. This exposes your customers to unnecessary risks and greatly damages your reputation.

Special characters not supported
If the SMS must contain non-standard characters, such as accents or currency symbols, these are usually replaced with random characters. This increases confusion and the impression of unprofessionalism.

Problems with concatenated messages
If a direct connection is used (a route that goes directly through French networks, for example), it is possible to increase the length of the message beyond the standard 160 characters. In this case, the SMS message arrives on the recipient's mobile phone as a concatenated text message, also called a long SMS.

If you use gray routes, the message is likely to appear as a series of texts. It is quite possible that the content is mixed up and message 2 arrives well before message 1!

Why choose direct (or white) routes?
Opting for cheap bulk SMS can turn out to be a choice that backfires. That’s why it’s essential to favor direct routes, also called white routes for your SMS .

By choosing a trusted provider, such as SMS Envoi , that uses only direct routing for SMS , you benefit from many advantages, including:

guaranteed security and better customer protection;
a guarantee of speed of delivery;
reliable and effective solutions;
alphanumeric sender customization;
a way to avoid losing some of the long messages;
advanced features.
Using white routes for SMS is just one of the many factors that argue in favor of choosing a reliable and efficient instant messaging provider. A2P SMS is a reliable and secure text message that is delivered via white routes.

Why choose SMS Sending services?
Nowadays, text messages are essential communication channels. SMS Sending services offer an effective solution for companies looking to improve communication with their customers, prospects, patients or employees. With competitive prices, our various services allow you to send SMS messages easily and quickly.

Whether it's to send an appointment reminder text message, a verification code or an SMS for contract renewal, our tools are wise and reliable choices.

We make security a key element. Our online platform and SMS API allow you to send messages in the safest way possible. In addition, you benefit from advanced tracking tools to be able to follow your SMS campaign.

Choosing SMS Envoi services means opting for a solution adapted to the current needs of businesses and consumers.

If you want to learn more about gray roads and SMS , download our free eBook: