Traficom Regulation on SMS Sender IDs
SMS Sender ID Authorization and Protection – What Does It Mean?
This article provides a concise overview of what SMS sender ID authorization entails.
Traficom’s new registration regulation 28 L/2025 M concerning SMS sender IDs will enter into force on May 4, 2026. This regulation will make SMS sender IDs safer to use in Finland and make it more difficult to send fraudulent messages using misleading sender IDs.
What is an SMS sender ID?
Several terms are used for the SMS sender, all referring to the same thing in this context: sender ID, sender identifier, sender name. These refer to the text or phone number that appears as the sender in a phone’s messaging application.
What does SMS sender ID authorization mean?
Traficom’s regulation means that all SMS sender IDs used in Finland must be registered, i.e., authorized. SMS authorization means that Finnish operators grant companies permission to send SMS messages in Finland using pre-authorized sender IDs.
SMS sender ID authorization applies to both alphanumeric sender names and phone numbers. Arena Interactive handles the authorization of SMS sender IDs with operators on behalf of companies.
When will SMS sender ID authorization enter into force?
SMS sender ID authorization will enter into force in 2026.
Important dates are:
May 4, 2026 – SMS authorization enters into force
As of May 4, 2026, all SMS messages sent by companies and other organizations must have a registered sender ID. This means that SMS sender ID authorization must be completed with operators by that date. At Arena Interactive, we ensure that our customers’ SMS authorization is in order.
From May 4, 2026, operators will send unauthorized SMS messages with the sender ID “Unknown.”
November 2, 2026 – SMS authorization requirements tighten
From November 2, 2026, operators will send unauthorized SMS messages with the sender ID “Spam.” Operators will also have the option to block SMS messages whose sender ID has not been authorized.
How do SMS sender authorization and protection differ from each other?
SMS sender authorization and sender protection are both available when companies want to send SMS messages in Finland. Here is a concise summary of the difference between SMS sender ID authorization and sender ID protection.
SMS sender ID authorization – mandatory going forward
SMS sender ID authorization, as the name suggests, grants permission to send SMS messages using this specific authorized sender name. The same sender ID can be authorized to multiple different parties in Finland. Sender ID authorization requires that the message sender is identified.
The sender ID must also meet the following conditions:
- If the SMS sender ID is alphanumeric (name-based), the sender ID must be clearly related to the sender’s business activities.
- The sender ID may relate, for example, to the sender’s name or trademark.
- If the SMS sender ID is a Finnish phone number, the SMS sender must have the right to use this phone number.
SMS sender ID protection – grants exclusive rights
SMS sender ID protection (SMS Sender ID protection) grants a company or organization exclusive rights to use a sender name. Traficom maintains the SMS Sender ID registry of protected sender IDs.
Current protected SMS Sender ID identifiers in use by organizations will continue to be a good option for verifying SMS sender IDs. Traficom’s regulation also improves the reliability of protected sender IDs, as authorization and registration of all sender IDs will complement SMS Sender ID.
How will SMS sender ID authorization be implemented for companies?
Switching to and using secure sender IDs will be easy for our customers. At Arena Interactive, we work with telecom operators to smoothly manage the SMS sender data authorisation and protection processes and token registrations. We will be in contact with all our customers in early 2026.
If you have any questions related to this topic, you can also contact us! Our customer service assists with all matters related to messaging and the use of our services Mon–Fri 9 AM–4 PM.
More information from Traficom’s press release:
Fraudulent messages sent in the name of organizations will be combated with new measures