Carrier pass-through fees are costs imposed by wireless providers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon for transmitting Application-to-Person (A2P) messages. These charges are passed down to Connectivity Partners (CNPs), such as Telgorithm, and ultimately to businesses using 10-digit long code (10DLC) numbers for messaging.
In 2024, these fees have seen consistent increases, with carriers implementing gradual hikes throughout the year.
T-Mobile: Implemented incremental fee increases for unregistered 10DLC messaging, with SMS fees rising from $0.008 in January to $0.012 by December, marking a 50% increase. MMS fees also saw a 23.5% rise, from $0.017 to $0.021 over the same period.
AT&T: On October 1, 2024, AT&T introduced new fees for both registered and unregistered 10DLC traffic. Registered SMS now incurs a $0.0030 fee for inbound messages, while MMS fees increased to $0.0075 for both inbound and outbound messages. Unregistered traffic faces higher fees, with SMS at $0.0100 and MMS at $0.0150 per message.
Here you can view current pass-through fees for all carriers and classes.
To manage costs in the wake carrier pass-through fees, businesses should focus on optimizing message deliverability. Undelivered messages still incur carrier fees, making high deliverability a key component to cost-effective campaigns. Partnering with an SMS API provider like Telgorithm, which uses Smart Queueing technology, ensures messages reach recipients and reduces costs associated with undelivered messages.
