Frequently Asked Questions

A bulk SMS gateway is the means through which a computer can send or receive bulk SMS messages. Often allowing for the conversion and sending of other forms of media or message, SMS gateways will generally utilize the same mobile phone networks as the messages sent from mobile phones.

To know how much bulk SMS costs, look no further than Celcom Africa, as a No.1 bulk SMS service provider company in Kenya, we offer the best SMS costing model unlike others players in the industry. Starting from KSh 0.4 per SMS and a minimum of 625 SMS to anywhere above 1 million, your business is well on its way to exceed customer expectations and improve sales as well as customer retention.

Before you get started with the Celcom Africa bulk SMS, you have to register for an account that will give you access to our bulk SMS portal. You can also sign up for a free bulk SMS account and 50 free bulk SMS are loaded into your account.

To successfully send an SMS message whether to a single recipient or multiple recipient an SMS gateway is required to make it possible to send and receive SMS messages to and from the telecommunication networks both local and international using a computer. Celcom Africa will seamlessly integrate bulk SMS API with your application thereby allowing you to send SMS message through our SMS gateway. Leverage. Therefore you need an sms gateway to send bulk sms messages.

We have created a bulk SMS service that’s different from any other bulk SMS gateway in Kenya. Excellent customer service, instant delivery, real-time delivery, lower pricing, automated payment and fast turn-around time. We support both SMPP and bulk SMS API gateway.

While sending a message, you can select a single contact or multiple contacts from your mobile contacts. Alternatively, you can import the phone contacts using excel or CSV file to form a contact group within Celcom Africa bulk SMS platform. Here is what you need to do:

Step 1: Log in to your account confirm you have enough SMS/credits if not purchase using our Pay bill which will automatically credit your account.

Step 2: If you have not uploaded contacts import your address book into your SMS account. Create groups to categorize your contacts accordingly and then upload your existing contact list in excel “save as excel 97-2003 template".

Step 3: Select your desired SMS message recipients. If the message is intended for a specific group, just select the group name. You can also paste a list of the numbers you want to send to.

Step 4: Type in your SMS message and be sure to keep checking to avoid exceeding your preferred SMS limit. Personalize SMS for recipients by inserting custom information fields easily, from your contact list. You can also include a link to measure your Return on Investment.

Step 5: Send or schedule the text message.

Any business, society member group or community group can use our cheap bulk SMS services to reach out to its customers, staff, members or friends with bulk SMS, instantly connecting to people where ever they are. With different levels of service, there’s always something to suit your organization regardless of its size. Celcom Africa offers the most affordable prices, with packages starting from KSH. 0.4 per SMS. Our customer service and bulk SMS uptime are excellent, we are always passionate to help.

our bulk SMS marketing campaign can be up and running within minutes.

No, you do not need a mobile phone to use our bulk SMS platform. Celcom Africa bulk SMS platform is web-based and does not need any downloading for one to use. All you need is an internet-enabled phone, laptop, PC, Mac or Tablet.

Yes, you can purchase credits without the assistance of Celcom Africa agents. Please click here to see the Pricing page. Choose the mode of payment you want to use and follow the steps listed.

Actually, with Celcom Africa bulk SMS there are NO EXTRA charges incurred. Bulk SMS operates on a prepaid basis. You simply purchase Bulk SMS credit bundles and use them as and when you need to. There is no monthly fee, no setup fee, and no contract fee involved when using our bulk SMS services.

You can send as many SMS messages, or as few, bulk SMS messages as you like as long as you are not spamming. Bulk SMS spamming is unwanted junk mail delivered as text messages to your cell phone.

It’s essentially the same process that you would go through when sending an SMS on your phone, in this case, it’s just that you would use your computer or tablet. With our Celcom bulk SMS platform, it’s as simple as typing in your text message, selecting the number you wish to send to, and pressing send.

The cost of sending bulk SMS depends on how many SMS credits you buy; one credit equals one SMS message (that is 160 characters inclusive of opt-out) and the credits never expire.

Your credits will NEVER EXPIRE. Celcom Africa offers a lifetime bulk SMS service.

The standard length of SMS is 160 characters inclusive of an opt-out

One SMS is equal to 145 characters excluding the opt-out. 145 characters are equal to one credit.

Yes, you can have more than one sender Id. And there are no extra charges incurred. Every sender ID is charged separately and per the network involved. Networks include and not limited to Safaricom and Airtel. Kindly contact us for more information.

Yes, Celcom Africa supports messaging in all languages.

Yes, we do provide invoices for all bulk SMS credit purchased. All emails are sent to you on all the credits bought whether you are initiating the process or renewing the service.

A message will use over one credit if you do either of the following:

• If you are using over 160 characters per message.
• If you have merged data into your message which is increasing the characters.

Celcom Africa provides delivery reports of all the bulk SMS sent. You can access the status of each message in the Report section of your platform. You can also download the report.

We do not provide data/contacts; however, we do offer short codes and long codes which are extremely effective in collecting opt-in numbers from your customers and can be used alongside any bulk SMS marketing activity.

Your data is completely safe. Celcom Africa does not share or pass on any data, that includes mobile phone numbers, names and addresses you upload to your platform. Data you upload will be used for your SMS marketing. Celcom Africa provides every person a secure encrypted password which only you can access.

Yes, you can import contact information from an excel sheet or a CSV file. You can upload your phone numbers with just a click of a button. You can also enter your numbers individually or by copying and pasting if you have a small volume of numbers.

While sending a message, you can select a single contact or multiple contacts from your mobile contacts. Alternatively, you can import the phone contacts using excel or CSV file to form a contact group within Celcom Africa bulk SMS platform. Here is what you need to do:

Step 1: Log in to your account confirm you have enough SMS/credits if not purchase using our Pay bill which will automatically credit your account.

Step 2: If you have not uploaded contacts import your address book into your SMS account. Create groups to categorize your contacts accordingly and then upload your existing contact list in excel “save as excel 97-2003 template".

Step 3: Select your desired SMS message recipients. If the message is intended for a specific group, just select the group name. You can also paste a list of the numbers you want to send to.

Step 4: Type in your SMS message and be sure to keep checking to avoid exceeding your preferred SMS limit. Personalize SMS for recipients by inserting custom information fields easily, from your contact list. You can also include a link to measure your Return on Investment.

Step 5: Send or schedule the text message.

Yes, you can import contact information from an excel sheet or a CSV file. You can upload your phone numbers with just a click of a button. You can also enter your numbers individually or by copying and pasting if you have a small volume of numbers.

Yes. It is possible to send outside of Kenya..

Only subscribers registered with Kenyan mobile networks can send texts to Kenyan short codes.

Our long codes, however, can receive texts from any mobile numbers – Kenyan or international. The cost to the sender will be their standard network rate.

Yes. If you have an account, you can request for a Sender ID of your choice at a cost 8000KSH. Sender IDs are a great way to enhance awareness of your business and conduct professional communication.
You can read about the differences between promotional and transactional SMS.

A Sender ID is a name or number that identifies the sender of an SMS message. The normal Sender ID of an SMS message sent via the Bulk SMS gateway is a computer-generated long number. But over an API, this alpha-numeric variable can be set to any 11 characters in the range a-z, A-Z plus 0-9. It shows the SMS recipient who the SMS message is from, i.e. who is sending the text message. In personal SMS messages, the Sender ID would be the name of the sender as you have saved it in your mobile phone contact list.

This automated reference number can be replaced by text, for example, a company's name. The setting of the Sender ID can only be enabled after you have purchased bulk SMS credits.

Sender ID requests are processed manually and we suggest you request a Sender ID change within office hours for a swift response.

Alphanumeric is the use of any character to create a sender ID. The sender ID is limited to 11 characters with no spacing but you can use a full stop or underscore which is also counted as a character.

Yes, you can. You can personalize your bulk SMS message by adding the recipient’s first name, surname or mobile number to the SMS text message that you send.

Your customers cannot directly reply to your Promotional/Transactional Bulk SMS as they are sent from a Sender ID. However, you can embed your inbox information e.g. Keyword and website links in your text messages and your customers can use these to reach you.

Ideally, Branded Sender Id is designed for one-way Bulk SMS communication but you can apply for a Short code for 2-way Bulk SMS messaging.

Yes, it’s easy to schedule your bulk SMS for delivery at a later date & time. Choose to schedule them to be sent only after a specific time and date.

Yes, you can cancel your scheduled bulk SMS messages and your SMS units will be refunded.

You can use bulk SMS to manage, send notification/alerts, launch new products or make an announcement.
We, Celcom Africa, will help manage all aspects of your bulk SMS requirements from start to finish!
We will design as well as run your campaign and create a customized bulk SMS campaign based on your own business needs and time frame.
Send Web-based bulk SMS messages from your computer or phone from anywhere.

SMS marketing is a universal tool. Bulk SMS is used in a range of markets including sales and marketing or for transactional bulk SMS alerts. SMS marketing can fit into any system, application and sector.

No, the size of your business does not affect the success of bulk SMS campaigns. Smaller campaigns work as well as the larger campaigns, as long as you have a database of your contacts and you send relevant messaging to them with an opt-out for those promotional bulk SMS.