Thank you for reading the Messaging Services The Messenger newsletter!

The Messaging Services Group recognizes that information is power and a solid

understanding of the ground rules is essential to ensuring your campaign makes it off the

ground.

Thus, the purpose of this newsletter is to break open the lines of communication in order

to help demystify the process of campaign provisioning. Each month, the goal or rather

the “message” of “The Messenger” is aimed at providing solutions that will help empower

you with the information you need to launch a campaign successfully.

The significance of equipping our partners and associates with the requisites of campaign

provisioning cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, in order to serve you better and to

make the process as seamless as possible for all parties involved, in this newsletter we

will arm you with the facts you need and then later go through the rigors of evaluating a

program to make certain that the information you provide is coherent, accurate, thorough

and compliant prior to it being presented to carriers.

“Employing the 5 W’s Method is key… [it] reduces the likelihood

of a carrier rejecting your program.”

By: NADEERAH FRANKLIN Editor

PURPOSE OF THIS NEWSLETTER

Have you ever heard the expression, “The Devil is in the Details?” Well this saying goes a long way in the world of mobile carriers.

Failing to include the seemingly insignificant details of a program can not only cause major mishaps or miscommunication delays, however, more importantly, this can also ruin a content provider’s chance of gaining carrier approval of his/her program.

As with all carriers, having too much information is typically better than too little. Employing the 5 W’s Method is key, as the ability to provide the “Who, What, When,

Where, Why and How” reduces the likelihood of a carrier rejecting your program.

Thus, the importance of having detailed information can not be overstressed. When a program fails to support, let alone, promote the HELP or STOP function, the program will be rejected. If the HELP or STOP commands are advertised in the program yet not built in to the application, the program is expected to fail during application testing.

If the carrier cannot determine approximately how many alerts will be sent in alerts subscription program, the program will be denied. Rejections cannot only be time consuming, but they can be costly. To have to resubmit a program for approval after it has failed certification, can mean the incurrence of additional carrier fees.

Using the 5W’s Method helps to minimize this burden of resubmission and it helps to confirm that the 6-7 items needed in any given program are expressed. Those items are:

� HELP � STOP � PROGRAM DESCRIPTION � BRAND NAME � PRICING � DOUBLE OPT-IN (if applicable.) � FREQUENCY (if applicable.) � WEBSITE

Campaign content approval forms should always have answers to these basic questions, for not only does it save time and money, but it also proves that Air2Web is promoting a quality product.

“The Devil Is In the Details” By: NADEERAH FRANKLIN

“…High rejection rates occur simply because the basic tenets and supporting guidelines of the Playbook are not adhered to. Other common reasons for rejection include incomplete

information and blank fields in the [Carrier Approval Form].” - T-Mobile

IN THIS ISSUE

1|Details: Foe or friend?

2|Getting the Message Out

3|Best Practices

4|Expert Advice

Presented By MESSAGING SERVICES

FEB 07 2008

The Messenger THE POWER OF INFORMATION

T-Mobile Updates “Other Charges May Apply” As of January 2008, T-Mobile is now requiring that all new applications contain the statement, “Other Charges May Apply” and this rule applies to both standard and premium rated programs. It is unlawful to use the similar phrase “Standard Messaging Rates May Apply.” Existing programs that currently reference the latter will be grandfathered in. However, it is advised that this phrasing be revised to the current accepted model.

T-Mobile Certification

In an effort to reduce lag time, T-Mobile recently announced that they’ve implored the help of an outside vendor: True North Service. TNS has been brought on to conduct end-to-end testing of all campaign applications.

TNS took ownership of CoGa certifications at the beginning of November, and overall the transition process has been smooth, yet if your program has been submitted for certification and it approaching the10 day mark, please contact: provisioning@air2web.com. We will investigate the status of your program and, if necessary, troubleshoot any problems.

Sprint/Nextel/Boost News

SNB Certification

NEW!! SNB has recently reversed their decision to perform end-to-ending testing of premium and standard rate programs. SNB has also overturned the controversial decision which required that premium programs to meet monthly minimums or risk being terminated. Now that both are no longer in effect, aggregators and clients alike can rest a little more easily.

Premium Chat Programs

Effective immediately, SNB has announced that

all premium chat programs, both existing and

new, must contain a monthly price point in

replace of weekly and/or per event

charges. Despite the type of chat offering,

all social networking mobile programs must

institute a monthly price point with

unlimited MT messaging. Absolutely no

chat campaigns will be grandfathered in.

Please expect all non-compliant per event,

single, daily, weekly price points to be

updated to a $0.00 Note: Maximum price

points are $19.99 on Sprint, Nextel and

$6.99 Boost.

AT&T Announcements

AT&T Certification

In January 2008, AT&T announced that it has jumped on board the certification testing train. Following the likes of T-Mobile and Dobson, AT&T will now go through the rigors of ensuring an application operates in a manner that is in agreement with MMA Guidelines and the AT&T Standard Practices rulebook.

The short code approval and provisioning process will remain unchanged; however after the provisioning of a code is complete, the aggregator is required to conduct an internal test of the application and once the application tests successfully, the aggregator is to submit a request for certification to the AT&T Certification Team.

Aggregators are given 60 days to request testing, once this time has lapsed without notice, AT&T will proceed with de-provisioning the code.

AT&T Branding Guidelines

Be advised that both “AT&T Wireless” and “at&t” are registered trademarks of AT&T. Neither can be used in any promotion. Use of either is considered illegal and will provoke the AT&T program review team to reject an incoming program or audit an existing program currently in the market. Only use of “AT&T” in plain text, (upper case or mixed case) is permitted.

Verizon Wireless Updates

Spending Caps

As noted within pages of the MMA rulebook, spending caps are established by individual carriers. For this reason spending cap limits can vary across carriers. Spending caps are based per short code (not per MDN).

Currently, the VZW monthly spending cap is set at$100.00. Additionally, the VZW daily spend limits for each program is set at $0.32 per day ($10 per month).

New programs that are submitted with daily pricing over $0.32 per day ($10 per month) will be denied. Short codes that exceed the monthly cap will run the risk of being terminated. This impacts all programs, both new and existing.

Social Networking

Be advised that as a result of perceived risk with controls and monitoring, the acceptance of any new chat program has been suspended until further notice.

US Cellular

ITV Sweepstakes Programs

It is important to note that currently USC requires that all premium ITV sweepstakes programs contain a double-opt in as a means for users to confirm the premium charge.

“All pricing MUST be verbally and visually present within each and every Call to Action. This includes the statement of a free web opt-in method of entry.” Also note that USC also requires that the free method of entry be announced in the on air call to action.

All Carriers

Please note that all approved programs must be in compliance throughout the program’s lifecycle. From submission to launch, all programs must be in compliance and remain in compliance. To be otherwise will trigger program audits and potential program termination.

THE MESSAGE BOARD

Staying in the know will help you make the right choice for your program

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MESSAGING SERVICES BEST PRACTICES

SUBMITTING AN APPROVAL FORM Each Air2Web customer has an account representative as well as designated project manager assigned to his/her project. In speaking with the client, the project manager will provide an added layer of scrutiny to help assure that the information with the Campaign Approval Form is obvious and coherent prior to it being submitted to the Air2Web Submissions Analyst. Although policies can often vary across carriers, please note that each carrier’s practice is backed by the Mobile Marketing Association. Consequently, the submissions analyst will thoroughly evaluate a program to ensure that each program that is funneled through to a carrier “lives up to the letter and spirit of the MMA Best Practices Guidelines for Cross Carrier Mobile Content Services.”

There are several questions that we ask of any program; however the primary questions we seek to have answered are: 1. Is the user clearly made aware of

what it is that he/she is signing up for?

2. Does user know how to opt out of

a program that he or she has signed up for?

3. Does the user know where to go

for help? Answers to these questions must be explicit and unmistakable. Once these answers have been confirmed and echoed in the campaign application, the program is then presented to the carriers for consideration.

Once a program has been submitted to the carriers, this starts the 6-8 week timeline for launch of a campaign. This timeline depends on the application type and number of participating carriers. This timeline also assumes that the application is developed and ready-to-run upon carrier review. The time it usually takes to receive an initial response, be it approval or rejection, typically falls within 5 to 10 business days. If the program is rejected during this process for any reason, the estimated time to launch can be driven up. The Messaging Services team will keep you current on where your program stands. For further information, status updates

or to submit a program for review please contact:

programs@air2web.com.

CERTIFICATION TESTING After a program has been submitted, subsequently approved and then provisioned, the next stage, specifically for T-Mobile, Dobson or AT&T, is program testing. Note: It is required that development be completed prior to testing. The program must be fully tested (both internally and on the carrier level) prior to it hitting the market. At no point is a program to be submitted to a carrier before it has passed testing internally. Carriers not only expect but require that all program applications presented for testing be thoroughly evaluated to ensure compliance with all standard MMA and carrier requirements. Again, it is important to note that the application must be commercially ready at the time of carrier testing. Once the application test plan has been submitted to the carrier in the form of a certification request, it is

important not to make any changes to the campaign after it has been submitted for certification. During testing, the carrier will look and test for the following components of a program: HELP, STOP, billing/price points, message routing, error handling, opt in keywords and product delivery. However, please note that in the untimely event that a program fails testing; please do not assume that all issues have been detected. It is the responsibility of the aggregator and client to run through the entire program to ensure that there are no other issues that may jeopardize testing. For further information or to submit a provisioned program for testing, please contact or submit a request to: provisioning@air2web.com.

DID YOU KNOW: It takes 6-8 wks to see a campaign launched? This timeline includes submission, approval,

provisioning and testing.

CAMPAIGN LIFE CYCLE

SUBMITTED: Carrier has received the campaign and is currently under review. APPROVED: Carrier has approved the flow of the campaign; begin any development that needs to be done to be tested PROVISIONED: Campaign is ready to be tested. ON HOLD OR NEED MORE INFO: Program requires further information before approval REJECTED: Carrier has declined program. Revisions may be required for approval. IN TESTING: Code has been provisioned, the certification request has been submitted and the program is currently undergoing carrier testing. LIVE: The approved program has tested successfully and is running on the carrier. Market users can now access the program. EXPIRED: Program/code has expired and has been terminated.

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© 2008 Air2Web Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.

This email was sent by: Messaging Services 1230 Peachtree St. N.E., Promenade II, 12th Floor

Atlanta, GA 30309

USA

Status Updates | Reference Info. | Email Us

MARKETWISE ASK THE EXPERT

Q: I have a short code program that is

currently running through another aggregator and I want to turn over my traffic to you. How do I go about switching traffic to Air2Web?

A: In order to migrate a code from one

aggregator to the next, you will be required to draft a short code transfer request letter. This letter is to be presented and sent to Neustar directly from you and then to the carriers by way of Air2Web. Air2Web requires you send a copy of the transfer letter in order that it may be presented to the carriers at the same time the campaign approval form is

submitted for review. Note: A short code program can not be switched over with out the submission of a campaign approval form. Both must be forwarded to the designated PM within A2W for review. It is mandatory that the transfer letter be presented on letterhead, which is to include the name of the company, main point of contact, the short code(s) to be transferred, as well as the return address information. This letter must be manually signed by an authorized person within your company. You have the option to send the letter via postal mail, fax or email. Note: To email a transfer request letter, you must ensure that the file is saved as a PDF, otherwise it will be rejected. Once the CAF has been approved by the A2W Submissions Team, both the transfer request

and CAF will be submitted to the carriers.

Click here to review further details regarding short code migrations across carriers or visit Basecamp for more info.

Q: Once a program has been approved

and provisioned, what items do carriers typically test for during a program’s certification?

A: The carriers will test the HELP, STOP functionality, price points/bill events (if premium), double opt-in (if necessary), opt in keywords, message routing, and error handling. Carriers will again review the actual return text to ensure that it meets the requirements set forth by the MMA guidelines as well as their own policy standards.

GOT A QUESTION?

Please send inquires to Linda.Hicks@air2web.com.

All other carrier related inquiries:

programs@air2web.com.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

Each month, the Messaging Services team will feature select mobile campaigns that are representatives of what a mobile program should be. We know all applications should be agreement with carrier standards, meet traffic projections, show promise for premium bills and provide an A+ user experience. This month we nominate South by South West as our first client to set the standard for all mobile programs. This program has been in compliance from submission to launch and has offered a consistent user friendly user experience. We’d like to SXSW for its outstanding performance! Keep up the great work.

Launching a campaign successfully!

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