The Truth About Carrier-Specific Routing

One of the most common claims in political texting is "carrier-specific routing" - the idea that messages can be intelligently routed based on the recipient's carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) to improve delivery rates or reduce costs.

Here's the truth: It's technically impossible.

How Message Delivery Actually Works

When you send a political text message, here's what happens:

1. Your platform (RumbleUp, Peerly, us) sends to an SMS aggregator (Telnyx, Bandwidth, Twilio)
2. The aggregator routes to the carrier
3. The carrier delivers to the end user

The critical point: The aggregator maintains carrier connections, not individual platforms.

Why "Carrier-Specific Routing" Is Impossible

Platforms like Peerly claim they can route messages differently based on the recipient's carrier. But here's the problem:

1. Shared infrastructure: All platforms using Telnyx share the same carrier connections
2. No carrier selection: Platforms cannot choose which carrier connection to use
3. Aggregator decides: The aggregator (Telnyx/Bandwidth) handles all routing decisions

When Peerly says they route to AT&T differently than Verizon, they're describing what every platform does because the aggregator does it automatically.

The "Spotlight" Myth

Some vendors claim to "match" your sending number to the recipient's carrier (Verizon-to-Verizon, AT&T-to-AT&T) to reduce fees or improve delivery.

This is not how U.S. carrier routing works.

Carriers do not waive fees based on origin number, and no vendor can selectively route messages through different domestic networks based on carrier matching.

If someone is selling "carrier-specific phone number routing," they're selling marketing language - not actual carrier behavior.

What Actually Improves Delivery Rates

Instead of impossible carrier routing, focus on what actually works:

1. Isolated Opt-Outs

Platforms that pool opt-outs globally reduce your reach by 10-30%. Keep your opt-outs isolated per organization.

Ask your provider: "Are my opt-outs isolated per organization, or shared across all clients?"

2. Direct Carrier Relationships

Work with aggregators who have direct carrier connections (one hop, not two or three).

This reduces latency, improves error visibility, and gives you real carrier-level delivery reporting.

3. Proper 10DLC Registration

Fast, accurate 10DLC brand and campaign registration is the #1 factor in delivery rates.

Political use cases require specific messaging profile setup. Generic business forms lead to carrier filtering.

4. Message Content

Avoid spam triggers, use proper disclaimers, maintain compliant content.

Carriers filter messages based on content patterns - not based on which vendor you're using.

The Real Delivery Factors

Here's what actually determines delivery rates:

How to Evaluate Delivery Claims

When a platform claims superior delivery, ask:

1. "Can I see per-carrier delivery reports?" (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile separately)
2. "What error codes do you provide?" (Carrier filters, invalid numbers, opt-outs)
3. "Are opt-outs isolated per organization?" (Or shared across all clients?)
4. "How fast is your 10DLC registration?" (24-48 hours or 7-14 days?)
5. "Can you explain how your routing works?" (If they mention "carrier matching," it's BS)

The Bottom Line

Don't pay more for "carrier-specific routing" or "Spotlight" features - they're not real.

Focus on the factors that actually improve delivery:

• ✅ Isolated opt-outs (not shared across all clients)
• ✅ Direct carrier access (one hop, not multiple resellers)
• ✅ Fast 10DLC registration (political-specific workflows)
• ✅ Compliant messaging (proper disclaimers, no spam triggers)

At Political Comms, we focus on these proven factors - and we deliver 97.8% success rates without impossible marketing claims.

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Questions? Contact our team to learn how we actually improve delivery rates.