Kicksite SMS Updates | FAQ

In order to comply with new North America mobile phone carrier regulations, Kicksite has been making some changes to how text messaging communications are handled in our software.

One of these changes will be the introduction of dedicated, individual toll-free phone numbers for each school for SMS messaging purposes. You may have received recent communications from us requesting verification of business information for your school. It is crucial for you to verify this information – if it is not completed, there will be a disruption to your Kicksite SMS messaging functionality.

What are these new US mobile phone carrier regulations?

In an effort to protect customers, the major US mobile phone carriers recently announced new restrictions for businesses using 10-digit phone numbers to send SMS and MMS messages to consumers. These new regulations require a new registration process for businesses as well as unique phone numbers for every business sending these messages.

Why does this affect Kicksite customers?

Kicksite has offered free one-way texting since the feature was first introduced many years ago. Because we have kept this service free of cost for our customers, we previously did not require each school to pay for a unique phone number. As a result, the new regulations noted above directly impact our current SMS processes and structure.

Will anything be changing with my SMS messaging in the future?

Yes and no! As a result of these new regulations, every Kicksite customer who uses SMS messaging and completes registration will have their own dedicated SMS phone number in order to stay in compliance. However, the process for sending SMS messages within the Kicksite software WILL NOT change. For the time being, we also intend to continue offering our one-way SMS messaging for free to Kicksite customers. As an added bonus, your new dedicated phone number will ensure even better deliverability for your text communications in the future.

All of this being said, the actions we are taking as a result of these new regulations do put us in a position to better roadmap a feature we’ve had our eye on for a while: 2-way texting! While we don’t have an exact timeline for when we will roll this out, we’re excited to be taking another step forward towards this addition.

Please stay tuned as we relay further updates on the future of SMS messaging within Kicksite and what the next evolution of this communication feature looks like for Kicksite customers.