What is A2P messaging?
Also known as: Application-to-person messaging, A2P SMS
A2P (application-to-person) messaging is any SMS sent from software to a mobile handset — order confirmations, appointment reminders, one-time passcodes and marketing campaigns — as opposed to P2P messages typed by one person to another.
A2P traffic is carried on commercial routes that carriers monitor for volume, sender identity and content. Because the messages come from a business rather than a person, they carry different rules: identifiable sender, a lawful basis for contacting the recipient, and a working opt-out.
Most business SMS is A2P. The distinction matters mainly because carriers filter unregistered or misrepresented A2P traffic, and because pricing for A2P routes is per message rather than bundled into a mobile plan.
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