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0 pointsrsync5y ago0 comments

"Yes. There's nothing special about a mobile phone number when it comes to SMS delivery."

This is false.

"Mobile" numbers - numbers that are classified as belonging to an actual mobile carrier - are indeed different than non-mobile numbers.

For instance, you cannot send SMS from a short-code to a non-mobile number. Which means, your twilio number (which is not a mobile number) cannot receive 2FA (or any other SMS) from the 5-digit "short code" numbers that gmail (and most banks, etc.) use for new account verification, etc.

Non mobile numbers are, in many ways, second class citizens in the mobile-operator ecosystem.

0 comments

techsupporter5y ago

Short code delivery doesn’t depend on whether a number is assigned to a mobile endpoint, only if the owning carrier has an agreement to exchange messages with the short code provider. Google Voice can handle most short codes, as could Bandwidth.com’s old “demo” retail service, ring.to. For example, send the word “help” to 468311, the short code message service a lot of public agencies use for alerts, from a Google Voice number and you’ll get a response.

Any number can be provisioned at an SMSC, even toll-free numbers these days. But mobile providers—and the associated short code entities—are loathe to peer with many VoIP carriers. Partially for competitive reasons, partially because many short codes are premium billing numbers.

You’re right about non-mobile numbers being second class, but that’s largely because companies filter them out because “fraud,” which is also suspicious reasoning. I can get a hundred “mobile” numbers within a few minutes, rather inexpensively.

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