If you have Integrated NOAA and National Weather Service Automated weather alerts, the service is changing due to actions taken by wireless carriers.
Wireless carriers are increasingly throttling or blocking messages sent using SMTP (email-to-text).
Many carriers are phasing out support for SMTP gateways, which have traditionally provided a cost-effective way to send weather alerts via text.
AT&T has officially announced it will discontinue its SMTP-to-text gateway.
In order to provide continued automated text alerts, even after the discontinued SMTP support by wireless carriers, CivicPlus is taking the following actions starting June 16:
SMS Delivery for Weather Alerts: Automated weather alerts will now be delivered using SMS, replacing the SMTP-to-text gateway. This upgrade enhances message reliability and delivery speed
One-Time SMS Confirmation: Civic Plus will automatically transition from SMTP Texting to SMS messaging. To comply with SMS best practices with wireless carrier requirements and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), this message will only be sent to numbers that have not previously received any type of SMS messages from us (for most customers, this is very small number of phone numbers). These numbers will continue to receive alerts unless the recipient opts out after receiving the confirmation message. This one-time consent message will be sent during the week of June 16.
Additional Improvements to Weather Alerts:
Weather Alerts will now appear in your Alert History, along with detailed delivery reporting for all supported channels.
Note: We are continually enhancing our service and will continue to monitor message usage, delivery methods, and the most effective ways to ensure both routine and emergency communications reach your residents reliably.
Additional Services
If you want expanded reach or additional services, there are several options available:
Integrations for additional delivery channels
New premium weather that includes automated translations and branding - Coming Soon
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why is this change happening?
The way automated weather alerts are delivered through the NOAA integration in our Mass Notification product is changing due to actions taken by wireless carriers.
Wireless carriers are increasingly throttling or blocking messages sent using SMTP (email-to-text).
Many carriers are phasing out support for SMTP gateways, which have traditionally provided a cost-effective way to send weather alerts via text.
AT&T has officially announced it will discontinue its SMTP-to-text gateway.
These changes require us to transition to more reliable and supported methods for delivering weather alerts.
Is there any impact on voice calls?
There are no changes to voice call alerts. Voice calls will continue to be sent for emergency warnings when included in the Emergency Add-On or Emergency Packages. These include Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, Flood, and Flash Flood Warnings only.
How is the SMS Confirmation process managed?
There is no action needed from your end. CivicPlus will manage the process programmatically and will send an alert containing opt-in instructions to the applicable .
Will customer admins have visibility into opt-ins and opt-outs?
Yes. The Confirmation alert will be visible in the alert history, and any unsubscribes will be reflected in the unsubscribe , clearly attributed to that specific alert.
How is the Confirmation message going to look?
Weather alerts via [Tenant Name] will now be delivered from 38276. Recurring msgs, frequency varies. Msg/data rates apply. Reply STOP to cancel
Why is SMS opt-in needed?
To comply with SMS best practices, wireless carrier requirements, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a one-time opt-in message will be sent only to phone numbers that haven’t previously received SMS messages from us. For most customers, this affects only a small number of recipients.