Incoming SMS Gateway: Receive SMS Online on a Long Code

What an incoming SMS gateway does

Most business SMS goes one way. An alert arrives from a header such as VM-KOVAIM-S, and nobody can reply to it. An incoming SMS gateway adds the other direction: a number that can receive SMS, reads each message as it arrives and hands it to you. A customer with any phone can send you information without an app or a data plan.

A Pollachi copra trader, for example, can print "SMS RATE to 98765 43210" on sacks and bills. Retailers text in, the keyword RATE tells the platform whose message it is, and the sales team sees each enquiry in the panel inbox with the sender's number and the time it arrived.

How receiving SMS online works

Every incoming message follows the same path, from the customer's phone to your inbox or your server, in a few seconds.

• The customer sends an SMS to your long code, usually starting with your keyword
• The operator delivers it to our platform, not to a handset
• The platform matches the keyword, or your default keyword if the number is dedicated to you
• The SMS is logged with the sender's number, keyword and received time, and the operator and circle when the network passes them
• If you have set a URL, the platform calls it with the sender's number and the text
• If you have set an auto-reply, it goes back to the customer on your DLT header

Shared long code, dedicated number or short code?

A shared long code is one number used by many businesses. Only messages that start with your keyword reach you, so your ads and bills must show both, for example "SMS KOVAI to 98765 43210". It is the low-cost way to start, and it suits campaigns, contests and opt-ins.

A dedicated long code is yours alone. A default keyword catches every message, so customers can type anything. Choose it for a support line, field staff reporting or replies to your own alerts, where people will not remember a keyword.

Short codes, the short numbers some large brands print in TV ads, are not offered on our platform. A long code covers the same jobs, from keyword campaigns to support lines, on every Indian network.

Keywords and sub-keywords

A keyword is the first word of the SMS: letters and digits, up to 10 characters, such as ENQ, JOIN or RATE. Matching ignores capital letters, so enq and ENQ are the same keyword. Under each keyword you can add sub-keywords, so ENQ PLOT and ENQ VILLA reach different sales teams within one campaign. Our team checks each new keyword before it goes live.

A keyword can carry an end date, which suits a contest or a festival offer: after that date it stops working. Keep a STOP keyword live all year for opt-outs, and remove those numbers from your marketing lists quickly, as the DPDP Act 2023 expects.

Receive SMS in your own software

Give us a URL on your server with two placeholders: _FROM_ for the sender's number and _MESSAGE_ for the text. When an SMS arrives, the platform calls that URL with both values filled in and URL-encoded. Your script can then create a lead in your CRM, add a row to a sheet through an automation tool such as Zapier or Pabbly Connect, or open a support ticket.

The URL must be a public http or https address that answers within about 10 seconds without a redirect. Push to URL and auto-replies are switched on for your account on request. Every incoming SMS also stays in the panel inbox, where you can search and export it.

• Example URL: https://crm.example.in/sms-in?from=_FROM_&text=_MESSAGE_
• Your server answers with HTTP 200
• Text your URL returns can be sent back to the customer as the auto-reply
• Developers can list their keywords through the REST API

Auto-replies and DLT rules

Customers who text your number need nothing special. Your replies are business SMS, so they follow DLT rules. Every auto-reply goes out on your registered header and must match one of your approved templates, with {#var#} for the parts that change. A reply that matches no template is not sent, so register the reply wording before the campaign starts.

An auto-reply can be fixed text, such as a thank-you with your office hours, or the text your URL returns, up to 1,000 characters. Each reply is billed like any SMS you send, by the number of parts, at your usual rate.

Pricing

Long code and incoming SMS pricing is on request, because it depends on whether the number is shared or dedicated and how many messages you expect. Replies and auto-replies are billed at your normal rate of ₹0.20 or ₹0.15 per delivered SMS plus GST, from a minimum purchase of 5,000 SMS.