SMS are currently being used for authentication with various service providers, to receive notifications about the status of services, orders or messaging; proof of transactions such as payment receipts, deposit confirmations, bank notifications; reservations in restaurants, workshops; promotions, and even for federal government notifications, as recently seen with the communication strategy related to Covid-19.
Text messaging has become the preferred method of communicating with customers because research has shown that most people open text messages within three minutes of receiving them. Additionally, when text and email engagement metrics are compared, text message open and response rates are significantly higher.
Customer copy goes beyond marketing. Text messaging is used in businesses in three areas: operations, security, and promotion. And that is due to the multiple benefits that its use represents. Among them:
- It takes less time to communicate.
- Communication history is automatically logged to view old messages.
- It is a very courteous and inexpensive way to send information.
- SMS notifications can be automated.
- It is easier to produce SMS as default words are provided for convenient typing.
- Using SMS communication, anyone can leave a message to the person, whether they are available or not.
This is why text message marketing has become one of the most direct and effective methods to connect with customers.
In terms of security, text is primarily used to add a layer of security to account logins, such as two-factor authentication, creating one-time passwords, and password resets, lessening the chance of hacking. or fraud.
Notwithstanding the growth that SMS are having in this type of use, the existing regulation in our country is not clear enough to allow the market to operate under competitive conditions, as revealed by the recommendations issued to the Plenary Session of the Federal Telecommunications Institute. (IFT) by its Advisory Council, from which it follows that:
- No specific regulation has been issued to promote the generation of competition. • There are limitations for new companies to offer SMS services for commercial purposes in Mexico, except that it is an interconnection service just like voice calls.
- It is necessary to carry out studies to verify whether competitive conditions exist in the SMS market and whether practices contrary to it have not been deployed.
- The IFT has issued interconnection resolutions for SMS in recent years, even though it was an issue on which there was no discussion.
- There are hundreds of companies that offer business SMS on the Internet and, curiously, cellular providers do not appear in the first pages of searches for “Business SMS”.
- Business SMS services are offered through what are known as SMS Aggregators, which are the ones that contract directly with cellular providers, who do not sell directly to companies or smaller SMS providers, which reveals that in the There are flaws in the market that must be analyzed and corrected.
- There are risks that SMS become a channel saturated with advertising.
The potential and value of SMS is not questioned, the issue is that it requires a regulatory framework that allows it to develop in the business environment with certainty, both in terms of technology and competition. It is essential that the IFT maintain communication with the actors and act in a timely manner so that this useful method of communication prospers and develops in a healthy commercial environment, for the benefit of issuers and receivers.