Carriers that approve RBM content on their networks also bill for delivering RBM messages to their subscribers using the following billing framework:
- Conversational - A charge for a conversation that consists of multiple A2P and P2A messages within a given time-period.
- Single Message - A charge for a single message containing rich RBM content (such as a message containing a Rich Card or Carousel).
- Basic Message - A charge for a plain text message of up to 160 UTF-8 characters.
Billing categories do not impact the functionality of your agent, but it’s important to understand the purpose of each one, to ensure your agents behaviour is best represented:
- Conversational - This agent engages in complex user interactions where messages are exchanged in both directions.
The following two categories never create conversational billing events - carriers will charge a Basic Message or Single Message price for each message, depending on the content that is delivered:
- Single Message - This agent generally sends rich messages or messages over 160 characters in length and seldom expects to receive replies.
- Basic Message - This agent implements SMS upgrade to RBM and seldom expects to receive replies. Generally, the agent is expected to send plain text messages of up to 160 UTF-8 characters. But the agent is not restricted; it can send richer content if so programmed and will be billed accordingly.
When you create your agent in Sinch, you will have the option to select between two categories Transactional and Conversational. Transactional agents include both the Single and Basic message types. You are not required to pick between them.
Important Notes:
- You can change your agent's billing category before you launch your agent. Contact your Sinch Account Manager, to discuss changing to a different billing category post-launch.
- If an agent is registered as Basic or Single all messages sent by the agent are billed as Basic or Single, they never convert to a Conversational billing model.
- If an agent is registered as a Conversation it is billed as a Basic or Single unless an P2A message comes back within 24 hours. If an P2A message comes back it is billed as a Conversational agent (conversations last for 24 hours from the P2A message).
