Frequently Asked Questions

Why use SMS?

SMS is the new email. Fast and innovative. The next generation in mobile communication.

How do I get started?

Easy. Click on the free trial or register now links anywhere on the site and fill in your details and you will be able to start sending SMS. If you need any further assistance, call our hotline 1300 724 387 or email us at support@directsms.com.au

Do I need to lock myself into a contract to use directSMS' services?

No. At directSMS, we don't believe in locking people into contracts. With directSMS' prepaid system, you only pay for the SMS you use and nothing more. And with the use of directSMS' 100% secure payment gateway, the purchasing process is quick, safe and simple.

Do you do bulk SMS?

Yes we do. All our services (Web 2 SMS, Email 2 SMS and our APIs) are optimised to send large batches of SMS messages in a matter of seconds.

You can send in bulk whether you are sending via a group from your address book utilising our Web 2 SMS application, by uploading a CSV file or via Email 2 SMS.

When do SMS credits expire?

The SMS credits you buy never expire. And the more you buy, the smaller the unit cost becomes.

What are branded messages and how much do they cost?

These are 1-way messages where you can replace the sending mobile number by a string of up to 11 alphanumeric characters e.g. "directSMS" or 'XYZ.Inc.'. Every time you send one of those messages, 1.0 credit(s) will be deducted from your account.

You can set the sender id to your own mobile phone number. This allows recipients to reply to your messages, but the replies are sent straight to your own mobile phone outside of directSMS' systems.

Alternativley, if you have an inbound SMS number, you can set the sender id to your inbound SMS number. This allows recipients to reply to your messages and the replies are routed back to your inbound SMS number and can be tracked through directSMS' systems.

What are two-way messages and how much do they cost?

These messages can be replied to by the message recipients, the replies can be viewed online, retrieved programmatically using one of our APIs, or they can be routed back to you as emails.

The system will auto correlate each 2-way message with its replies making them great for applications where answers to specific questions need to be tracked. Our 2-way messaging system does not require that you have your own mobile number or pool of numbers in order to receive reply messages.

Each 2-way message costs 1.5 credit(s) and you don't pay for the replies.

You can not set a sender id for these messages, as the system allocates a sender id automatically from a common pool of numbers. This sender id is not permenant and will change across messages and recipients.

What are inbound messages and how much do they cost?

These messages are originated outside of directSMS' systems. They are messages sent by your staff, customers or prospects. There are some inbound account setup costs, and a flat monthly fee which is charged if you receive 10 messages, or 10,000 messages. You do not pay a per message charge for receiving SMS.

How does directSMS send SMS messages?

We send all of your SMS messages through the local telecommunications providers - Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

We do not take any chances with the delivery of your messages.

We can guarantee 100% coverage to all networks in Australia (including CDMA and 3G). How many of our cheaper competitors can claim that?

What networks do directSMS support?

directSMS supports all of Australia's mobile networks (GSM, 3G and CDMA). directSMS being an Australian company prides itself on only using Australian (locally originated) SMS and not internationally originated SMS for greater reliability.

To find out more about the difference between locally originated and internationally originated SMS, please click here.

How long does it take for a message to reach its destination?

SMS is very similar in nature to email. Most messages arrive within a few seconds from sending. However for legal reasons, we cannot guarantee this speed all the time, if your network operator is experiencing network problems, your messages may be delayed.

Can you send SMS messages to the UK?

Yes, our systems can send SMS messages to the UK, and hundreds of other international destinations.

Does directSMS develop their own services or do they resell other peoples' services?

We develop all our services and platforms and have been doing so since we started in 2001.

Can I send a "branded" 2-Way message?

Unfortunately no. You can either send a Branded SMS or a 2-Way SMS. By replacing the sender ID on the SMS with your own "brand", recipients will no longer be able to reply to the SMS.

What you can do however is to use "branded" SMS setting the sender id to be your own mobile number. This way when recipients reply, the replies are sent straight to your phone. The replies however will not be tracked by our systems.

Can I set the sender id on branded messages to be my mobile?

Yes, you can set the sender id to be your own mobile number.

This will ensure the following:

1.		Message recipients can reply to your branded messages.
2.		The reply message(s) will be routed straight to your handset.
3.		The reply message(s) will be handled outside of directSMS' systems. You will not be able to see them online. You will not be able to retrieve them via one of our APIs.

What's the difference between local and internationally originated SMS?

Locally originated SMS are a lot more reliable as locally originated SMS support mobile numbers ported to different networks as well as sending to 3G and CDMA networks. The other advantage with locally originated SMS is that you will have a local timestamp on outgoing SMS.

Internationally originated SMS often can not reach ported numbers. And there are no guarantees when it comes to sending SMS to 3G and CDMA networks.

According to surveys in April of 2005, Hutchison's 3 network had eclipsed 500,000 users. Can you afford to ignore that many people? Effectively this is what you are doing when going through almost all of our cheaper competitors.

Also given that these SMS are originated overseas, then they will have an overseas timestamp, not to mention the fact that they are a lot more susceptible to network delays seeing they have to "hop" across multiple networks just to make it to Australia.

For further information, please look at the local vs. international page.

How can I personalise my SMS using mail merge SMS?

You can use Mail Merge SMS (one of the tools in Web 2 SMS) to send out large batch of SMS, but allowing you to personalise each SMS (eg. with name, appointment time, etc) without typing each SMS manually.

Mail merge SMS allows you to enter an SMS template that has personalised fields (eg. Dear [FIELD], you have an appointment at [FIELD], please call us on .... ). Then you can provide the mobile numbers you wish to send them to along with the personalised field values in a csv file.

Your csv file will need to contain all the recipient mobile phone numbers, as well as the values for all your personalised fields.

For further information, please email us at support@directsms.com.au

How do I purchase message credits?

You can purchase message credits online to top up your pre-paid balance. Login into your account and click on the purchase credits link under the administration menu. This will take you to our secure online payment system.

How can I get an invoice?

Whenever you make a purchase you will be presented with an invoice. However should you wish to obtain tax invoices for previous transactions; go to the purchase history link under the administration menu to get access to all of your tax invoices.

Can I use Web 2 SMS to send SMS to groups/distribution lists?

Yes you can. Once you have logged into the system, under the address book menu you can add all your contacts and then put them in groups / distribution lists that you can use for sending bulk SMS.

Can I view a message log and usage history?

Yes you can. To view your usage reports, please login with your username and password and click on the message log link under the SMS tools menu.

I sent a 2-way SMS, but the replies were not sent back to my email account. Why?

You have to update your user profile to send 2-way SMS replies back to you as an email message. This can be done in the manage users page as well.

Can I integrate my system with directSMS' SMS gateway?

You can integrate SMS into your system using one of our Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). directSMS have a number of APIs in the following technologies: Java, SOAP, HTTP and PHP.

All our APIs come with supporting documentation and sample code. For further information, please check our developers page.

I have my own IT system; can I use directSMS' services to get my system to send SMS messages?

We have a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that allow an external application or system to communicate with our SMS gateway.

We have APIs in the following technologies: Java, SOAP, HTTP and PHP.

And if you do not want to use a programmatic approach, you can always use email to SMS.

Email 2 SMS. What is it? How does it work?

Email 2 SMS allows you to send an SMS using your email account. All you need do is send an email to <mobile>@directsms.com.au and the content of the email will be forwarded as an SMS to the mobile number specified.

To use Email 2 SMS, you need to register for an account and then email our friendly support staff at support@directsms.com.au who will set your account up for email 2 SMS use.

When using Email 2 SMS in conjunction with 2-way SMS, replies to the SMS you send out will be routed back to your email inbox allowing you to carry out whole conversations.

As always, this comes at no extra cost. Again, all you pay for is the SMS messages you send out.

I sent an email message to 04xxxxxxxx@directsms.com.au but I never got an SMS?

You must first contact our support team at support@directsms.com.au in order activate email 2 SMS functionality on your account.

We do not turn Email 2 SMS on by default for security reasons.

Do I have to register every email address I want to use to send email 2 SMS?

No that is not required. We can configure our system to accept and process email 2 SMS messages from a specific account or from a whole domain. I.e. We can configure the system to only accept and process emails from "account@yourdomain.com", or it can be configured to accept and process emails from any account from "yourdomain.com"

Inbound SMS. What is it? How does it work?

Inbound SMS allows your staff, customers or propspects to get in touch with you by sending an SMS to a deidcated number. The SMS messages can be viewed online through our Web 2 SMS solution, we can forward them to you as email messages, or you can receive them as email messages as soon as they come in.

Inbound SMS numbers are NOT premium SMS numbers, and thus the sender is charged at normal rates by their mobile service provider.

How do I know when I received an SMS?

Our system can be configured to send you each SMS as an email message when it is received. You can also view the messages online, or retrieve them using one of our many APIs.