Is there any Developer Program for Azure Communication SMS Services for development purpose.

Question

We are trying to use Azure Communication Service to send SMS.

Right now, we are in development process and require a phone number to send SMS.

Is there any other option apart from Toll-Free number for development purpose.

FYI, we already have an Azure Developer Subscription that we are using.
For Development purpose, currently we are considering using toll-free number for sending SMS. Is this the best approach or we should consider some other number type/approach for development.

Your help and assistance are appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi @Anonymous , I don't believe there an official Developer Program.

However, for development and testing purposes with Azure Communication Services SMS, there are a few options besides toll-free numbers:

1. Use the SMS sandbox: The ACS SMS sandbox allows you to send and receive messages without an actual phone number. This is great for initial development.
2. Get a trial phone number: ACS provides trial phone numbers that are meant for short-term evaluation. These start with +1425 and let you send/receive for initial validation.
3. Use your own personal phone number: You can use your own cell phone to test receiving SMS during development. Just be aware of any charges that could occur.
4. Short Codes (12345): These are 5-6 digit numbers used for business to consumer messaging such as alerts, notifications, and marketing

Once you're ready to actually validate with real users at scale, you'll want to purchase a toll-free or local phone number. But the sandbox, trial numbers, and your personal devices are all great low-cost ways to develop and unit test before then.

The sandbox would be my top recommendation to start since it carries no cost and lets you fully test the SMS SDK send/receive capabilities without a real number.

Hope that helps.

Grace