Hong Kong SMS Features and Restrictions

Country Summary

Sender ID Guidelines

Hong Kong has started doing pre-registration of Sender IDs since 28th Dec 2023 in order to help the public identify the source of the SMSes. All registered Sender IDs will have a # in front of their Sender ID. (eg: #brand)

Please refer to OFCA website for more details:

https://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/industry_focus/industry_focus/ssrs/index.html (under 'Guidelines on Registration of Sender IDs and Sending of Short Messages and Multimedia Messages')

*If customer has successfully registered the Sender IDs with OFCA and wish to send the registered Sender ID traffic via Vonage, they will need to register with Vonage afterwards. 

What is a registered Sender ID?

All SMS except for 2-way HK LVNs that is registered with the regulator(OFCA) will have their Sender ID tagged with a # (eg, #brand)). Once this is registered, the HK subscribers will know this is from a secured source and such registered Sender ID will be delivered via a dedicated and secured binding. The registered Sender ID list will be updated by OFCA here:

https://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/industry_focus/industry_focus/ssrs/index.html  (under ‘SMS Sender Registry’ session)

Who can register under this Scheme?

The Scheme is currently open to government, telecom and banking sectors. All brand owners or their SI/marketing agencies will need to register their brands with OFCA directly. Vonage is not able to advise at this point of time the steps to submit to OFCA. Brand owners will have to check with OFCA directly for the registration.
 

What’s the process to complete registration with Vonage?

Customers will need to complete the registration with OFCA first before reaching out to Vonage for registration. Once Sender ID is approved and registered with OFCA, customers can then submit the registration request with Vonage with the required LOA so that Vonage can register accordingly with the operators and route the traffic to the dedicated bindings. Customers can submit such requests via GCN, Vonage Support or Vonage account managers.

Can we support aggregators / resellers traffic?

As per the SMS flow, we cannot support aggregator or reseller traffics at the moment. Aggregators or resellers are to engage with RSSP licensees themselves.

How do I know if my customer has registered their Sender IDs with OFCA?
Customers can find the list of registered Sender IDs here: https://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/industry_focus/industry_focus/ssrs/index.html (under ‘SMS Sender Registry’ session)

For non registered Sender ID

*To initiate the Sender ID registration process, please contact your account manager or support

Use-Case & Content Guidelines

Additional Information

P2P traffic is prohibited.

No political, religious, unsolicited promotion, or gambling content.

There are no additional content restrictions beyond those in our Acceptable Use Policy.