Can the recipient see a name instead of a number when they receive a message?
Yes, this can be done (on some networks). Please contact Support or Sales.
Can I see when a recipient received a message on their handset?
Yes. Although a few networks do not provide the message status information, most do and they will be shown with the message in the Messenger Inbox
Can I see when a recipient reads a SMS message I sent them?
No. Standard SMS does not provide this sort of information. The closest you can get is if the carrier notifies us when the message is received on the handset.
When sending SMS by email can I tell if the person received it?

Yes. When sending an email set the option for a “read receipt” (each email system has a different way of doing this so see the relevant vendor for more information).

When a message is processed with a read receipt request, Messenger waits for a few minutes and sends an email back that has the status information for each recipient. If you have login credentials you can also view this information in the Messenger Inbox.

Can I send in different languages?

Yes. Some languages may not display correctly on some handsets and carrier networks.

If you are using a UTF-16 language (Chinese, Cyrillic etc), your character payload per SMS message part decreases to 70 characters in the first part, and 134 characters in the second part and 201 in the third part.

This means if you send a message that is 100 characters (for example) in a UTF-16 language, you will be charged for 2 messages.

Are messages delivered immediately?

Bulletin attempts to send all messages to the carriers within seconds of receiving them, but SMS is a best effort, store and forward process which means that the carriers may have their own queuing, delivery and expiry policies.

Once Bulletin has passed the message to the carrier delivery is beyond our control, however, we will request status updates and use these to keep you informed of the of the message if these are available.

You can use the status information to decide whether you should resend the message or use an alternative communication method.

How Many Messages can be sent per minute?

If individual (customised) messages are prepared and sent then about 3000 per minute can be sent through the Bulletin API. The speed of message delivery will also be impacted by:

  • Network connection speed between your client and Bulletin.
  • Method of connecting to Bulletin Connect (HTTP is faster than a SOAP connection).
  • The destination carrier. Some carriers throttle message delivery based on their network requirements.

SPAM

Bulletin Services must not be used for unsolicited SPAM or marketing messages. Users that do so may have the service restricted or cut off.

Download the NZ Unsolicited Electronic Messages Legislation and ensure your service and procedures adhere to this Act. Users residing in other countries or sending messages to other countries (outside of NZ) must ensure that they comply with all applicable local laws.

The messages I send arrive from different numbers

To enable all your messages to be replied to, and in any order, the messages arrive from a rotating pool of numbers. This is standard operation.

Within the User Interface you can select ‘Consistent Numbering’, as a best-effort attempt to use the same number, but this will mean you can not have multiple concurrent conversations with the number.

What networks does Messenger work with?
Messenger has worldwide SMS messaging capability.
How is sending text messages from Messenger different from usual text messaging?
You have the convenience of messaging from a web site and being able to send a group message from your phone in a very cost-effective manner.
How do I send a message to a mobile?
When you log in to Messenger you’ll be presented with the main screen for sending messages. Here you simply type your message into the text box, select the contacts or numbers you’d like to send the message to, and click ‘SEND’.
How do I send an SMS by email?

It’s dead simple:

  • Ask your Administrator to enable Email2SMS for your email address
  • Send an email to “phonenumber”@bulletinmessenger.net, eg: 642715414141@bulletinmessenger.net

More information available here

Can we set up Messenger so each login can only see certain numbers/groups?
A Company Admin user can enable ‘Restrict Contacts’ so Users can only send to contacts in Groups that are configured by a Company Admin. Also you can place Contacts into ‘Security Domains’ and then tightly control which users have access to those contacts within a ‘Security Domain’.
How do I create a message that will be sent at a later time?

Create the message as normal, by adding the recipients and entering the message text. Instead of clicking Send, click Schedule. This takes you into the Schedule Message screen where you can select from a calendar what day and time to send the message.

More information available here

I receive an 'Insufficient Funds' message after I try to send a message
You have either used up you free trial messages or have no funds in your Messenger account. Please login to check your account and make a payment if neccessary. To login, go to (https://www.bulletinmessenger.net) and click the login button.
Why am I billed for two messages when I only send one?

A Text Message is 160 characters long. In order to send longer messages Telcos actually send multiple individual messages that are glued back together via the phone in order to give the illusion of one message.

Consequently ‘long’ messages (more than 160 characters) are seamlessly chopped into fragments by Messenger, but we are forced to charge for each of these parts individually.