Fundamentals BroadNet answer

What is P2A SMS?

Last reviewed July 22, 20261 min readReviewed by BroadNet engineering

Quick answer

P2A (person-to-application) SMS is a message a mobile subscriber sends from their handset to a business application — texting a keyword like STOP, HELP, BALANCE, or a competition code to a short code or virtual long number. It is the inbound, mobile-originated counterpart to A2P (application-to-person) SMS, and the mechanism behind two-way SMS, opt-in keywords, and conversational campaigns.

Plain-language definitionVendor-neutralReviewed July 22, 2026

The long answer

Everything worth knowing, nothing that isn't.

§01

P2A vs A2P — direction is everything

A2P is software sending to a handset (mobile-terminated, MT); P2A is a handset sending to software (mobile-originated, MO). P2A is billed to the consumer on their tariff, arrives at your gateway as an SMPP deliver_sm with the MO flag set, and is the technical foundation of two-way conversational SMS. See /answers/what-is-mo-vs-mt for the MO/MT distinction and /products/two-way-sms for the product.

§02

Where P2A shows up

Opt-out and opt-in keywords (STOP, START, HELP) that regulators require on marketing SMS; competition and voting entries; two-way customer support; and consent capture where a subscriber texts a keyword to a short code to join a programme. P2A always needs an inbound-capable number: a long number (always two-way), or a short code provisioned for MO.

§03

How BroadNet handles P2A

Inbound MO messages are delivered to your webhook in real time, matched to the originating conversation, and available over the same SMPP bind or REST webhook you use for A2P. Because the reply path is MO, it is priced and routed as a legitimate operator service — not a grey route. See /products/two-way-sms.

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

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