Fundamentals BroadNet answer

What is inbound SMS?

Last reviewed July 22, 20261 min readReviewed by BroadNet engineering

Quick answer

Inbound SMS — also called mobile-originated (MO) SMS — is a message sent by a person to your business number, such as a reply, a keyword, or a STOP request. It arrives at your application through a webhook and is the foundation of two-way messaging: confirmations, support conversations, surveys, keyword campaigns, and opt-out handling all depend on receiving inbound messages.

Plain-language definitionVendor-neutralReviewed July 22, 2026

The long answer

Everything worth knowing, nothing that isn't.

§01

How it reaches you

When someone texts your number, the mobile-originated message is delivered to your application via a webhook in real time, so you can process it programmatically. See /answers/what-is-mo-vs-mt and /answers/what-is-a-messaging-webhook.

§02

What number receives it

You need a number capable of receiving: a long code, toll-free number, or short code. A one-way alphanumeric sender ID cannot receive inbound messages. See /answers/what-is-long-code and /answers/what-is-short-code.

§03

What it enables

Two-way support, reply-to-confirm reminders, surveys, keyword campaigns, and mandatory STOP handling. See /answers/what-is-two-way-messaging and /answers/how-to-handle-sms-opt-outs.

BNWritten by the BroadNet engineering team·Operating carrier-grade messaging since 2003, headquartered in Dubai·Editorial standards

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