Premium SMS text charging. Fools guide

Andrea B.

Hello folks. If one wanted to set up a service which they wanted people to pay for by SMS............how does it work?
The idea being that someone sends me a text and they get billed €2, for example.

I know I need a 5XXXX number, but really need to know the "fool's guide" to getting it, best provider and costs associated etc. etc.

Yours in ignorance:o

krudler

how about you dont and there'd be one less rip off subscription service in the world?

or back on topic call either comreg or regtel and see exactly what you need to do

Andrea B.

What's your problem?
Who mentioned ripoff and who mentioned subscription? I asked about a system whereby a service could be paid for by SMS, just as some people pay via PayPal, CC etc. I asked in the hope that someone could explain the process in basic English.
Do you trawl the posts advising people to call regulators or service providers everytime they post a query?

krudler

no but one call to either regulator will tell you exactly what you need to do,rather than relying on info being given to you on a message boards or just try either of their websites www.regtel.ie or www.comreg.ie

jimmycrackcorm

The costs are significant. A dedicated 5 digit number costs €6000 to set up plus monthly fees of €300. That's on top of per message charges. Shared numbers (using keywords) are cheaper though. You'd need to be doing sometnhing nationally to at least break even.

whisht

As jimmycrackcorm says, a shared number using keywords is a lot cheaper. Have a quick look here to give you some ideas. http://www.esendex.com/ie/Prices-Premium-Rate-SMS-prices-ROI-Tariff.aspx I used this company for sending sms messages from PC's for alarms etc and their support and email contact is very good

Andrea B.

jimmycrackcorm and whisht, many thanks. The esendex site makes it clearer than some of the other ones I had come across.