Introducing Mobile Numbers in the Netherlands

Introducing Mobile Numbers in the Netherlands

Today, I’m excited to share that a special class of Mobile Phone Numbers in the Netherlands are now available in beta. These numbers with a +3197 prefix are designated for cloud-based communications, including Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging. That means you can send and receive messages using a Dutch Twilio Phone Number while complying with local regulations.

Prior to these new numbers, you had the ability to send messages in the Netherlands with a non-Dutch Twilio number. We’ve been working closely with Dutch providers to add in-country numbers, so you can reach your customers with a familiar local number.

In the process, we uncovered a few important intricacies. The Dutch regulator dictates that regular mobile phone numbers with the +316 prefix cannot be used for programmatic A2P messaging. Instead, telco regulation requires that this use case be done through a special Machine-to-Machine or M2M class of numbers (with +3197 prefix). And they’re serious about it. Users are at risk of disconnection or fines if apps are not using +3197 mobile numbers for messaging.

You can get the special class of Dutch Mobile Phone Numbers through the Twilio Console and the Phone Number API.