# A2P SMS, OTP, and sender ID rules in India

> BroadNet delivers A2P SMS and OTP in India over direct connections to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vi, plus an operator-grade route to BSNL, with TRAI sender ID registration in 3-7 business days (DLT header registration).

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/coverage/india
- Language: en
- Last updated: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) registration for Header, Entity, and Template handled inside the BroadNet console. Direct termination to Jio, Airtel, and Vi (Vodafone Idea).

## Key facts

- Regulator: TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)
- Dialling code: +91
- MCC: 404 / 405
- Mobile subscribers: 1,150M
- Sender-ID lead time: 3-7 business days (DLT header registration)
- Time to launch: Live in 5–15 business days from test-access request to production
- Typical OTP latency: 3.0 s
- Typical delivery rate, operator-direct: 99.2%
- SMS price band: INR 0.183 – 0.2163 (indicative list rates, reviewed 2026-09-24)
- Billing currencies: INR, USD

## Operators

| Operator | MNC | Route | Grade | A2P rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Jio | 405-840 | Direct | A+ | INR 0.183 |
| Bharti Airtel | 404-10 | Direct | A+ | INR 0.1997 |
| Vi (Vodafone Idea) | 404-11 | Direct | A | INR 0.2163 |
| BSNL | 404-34 | Operator-grade | B+ | INR 0.2163 |

## Technical facts for India

Network codes, message lengths and sender-ID rules in one table. Segment lengths are the GSM standard values (3GPP TS 23.038).

| Technical facts | |
|---|---|
| Mobile country code (MCC) | 404 / 405 |
| Dialling code | +91 |
| Operators (MCC-MNC) | Reliance Jio · 405-840; Bharti Airtel · 404-10; Vi (Vodafone Idea) · 404-11; BSNL · 404-34 |
| SMS length, GSM-7 (Latin alphabet) | 160 characters in a single SMS; 153 per part when concatenated |
| SMS length, UCS-2 (Arabic, Cyrillic and other scripts) | 70 characters in a single SMS; 67 per part when concatenated |
| Regulator | TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) |
| Sender-ID rules | TRAI DLT registration mandatory: Header (sender ID), Entity, and Template all pre-registered on the DLT blockchain. Every message variant scrubbed at operator firewall. |
| Sender-ID lead time | 3-7 business days (DLT header registration) |

## Pricing

| Band | Transactional | Promotional | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | INR 0.183 | INR 0.224 | List rate up to 100K messages/month |
| Growth · 100K+ | INR 0.161 | INR 0.197 | Auto-tier discount |
| Volume · 1M+ | INR 0.135 | INR 0.166 | Includes quarterly route review |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Direct operator pricing + signed SLA |

## Sender ID

TRAI DLT registration mandatory: Header (sender ID), Entity, and Template all pre-registered on the DLT blockchain. Every message variant scrubbed at operator firewall.

DLT Header / Entity / Template registration handled in-console — header registration typically takes 3-7 business days and each content template 1-3 business days. Once live, every message is scrubbed in real time against your registered header and templates at the operator firewall.

## Rules

- **TRAI DLT registration**: Header (sender ID), Entity (your company), and Template (every message variant) must be pre-registered on the DLT blockchain. Scrubbed at operator firewall.
- **DND (Do Not Disturb) registry**: TRAI DND consent must be honoured for promotional. Transactional and Service Implicit can override DND with regulator approval.
- **22 scheduled languages**: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, and 17 more — all UCS-2 termination, no transliteration penalty.
- **Promotional time windows**: TCCCPR 2018 keeps the time bands outside 10:00 - 21:00 IST off by default for promotional content. Service Implicit (OTP, alerts) is 24/7.
- **DPDP Act 2023**: Digital Personal Data Protection Act applies — consent, purpose limitation, breach notification, and Data Protection Board enforcement.

## Compliance

DPDP Act 2023 governs PII (Data Protection Board enforcement). DND (Do Not Disturb) registry honoured for promotional. Under TCCCPR 2018, promotional delivery is by default limited to 10:00-21:00 IST; Service Implicit and Transactional 24/7.

## Sample A2P template

```text
Your OTP is 384921. Valid for 5 minutes. Do not share.
```

Hindi:

```text
आपका OTP 384921 है। 5 मिनट के लिए वैध। साझा न करें।
```

## Related

- https://www.broadnet.me/regulations/india
- https://www.broadnet.me/pricing/sms/india