Twilio’s 2026 Heightened Awareness Period: Ensuring Reliable Messaging for Peak Season

The U.S. Presidential election and the holiday shopping season are almost here, and with them comes a surge in message traffic. At Twilio, we’re ready to make sure your messages reach their destination without any hiccups. The final months of the year bring massive traffic spikes across mobile networks, driven by U.S. midterm election campaigns and the holiday shopping rush. To keep messages moving and prevent carrier bottlenecks, Twilio’s putting two temporary Heightened Awareness Periods (HAPs) in place:

• U.S. Midterm Elections HAP: November 2 to November 4, 2026

• Black Friday / Cyber Monday (BFCM) and Holiday Peak Season HAP: November 19, 2026 to January 4, 2027

What’s a Heightened Awareness Period?

A HAP is a scheduled window when Twilio monitors and manages message throughput to U.S. destinations. This applies to toll-free numbers, short codes, 10DLC numbers, and RCS senders. If you send heavy volumes during these windows, we balance traffic so your messages don’t get stuck in carrier queues.

During both upcoming periods, short code and toll-free traffic for high-volume senders temporarily shifts to Market Throughput. Under Market Throughput, traffic flows within broader network capacity unless you have contracted limits. Your 10DLC phone numbers remain on Account-Based Throughput, and RCS senders run on standard per-sender throughput limits. Any contracted limits on your account will always be honored throughout both windows.

If your account needs adjustments, we’ll let you know directly by email. Accounts that don’t get an email will keep sending normally.

Why Throughput Matters

Whether you’re delivering voter turnout updates, seasonal retail promotions, one-time passcodes, or delivery alerts, speed matters. Heavy traffic spikes can strain carrier networks across the country and managing throughput ahead of time stops queues from backing up when your messages need to get delivered quickly.

Do You Need to Do Anything?

Most Twilio users don’t need to take action. If your business or campaign depends on high-volume messaging during either peak window, connect with your Twilio account team early to evaluate your throughput needs and secure capacity.

If you’re sending election traffic during the U.S. Midterm Elections HAP (November 2 to November 4, 2026), reach out to your account team by October 1, 2026, to review your volume forecasts. You’ll need to request and return your supplementary order form by October 16, 2026, and finalize all throughput locks by October 26, 2026.

If you’re preparing for the BFCM and Holiday Peak Season HAP (November 19, 2026 to January 4, 2027), start by submitting new RCS senders for carrier approval by October 1, 2026. Carrier reviews take 4 to 8 weeks, though you can ask your account team about Fast Track for quicker turnaround. Next, review your holiday throughput needs with your account team by October 31, 2026. If you need extra A2P 10DLC capacity, submit your request by November 2, 2026. Finally, sign your supplementary order form by November 13, 2026, to lock in guaranteed throughput across short code, toll-free, and RCS traffic. Capacity is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

After the HAP

Once each period wraps up (November 4, 2026 for elections, and 8 AM PT on January 4, 2027 for the holiday season), affected accounts go back to their standard pre-HAP sending limits.

If your team signed an order form to keep elevated throughput beyond these dates, your contracted limits stay in place for your agreed term. 

Stay Ahead of the Game

Big sending days shouldn’t come with surprises. At Twilio, we focus on keeping your messages moving so you can focus on building and running your apps. To review your setup or lock in custom throughput, reach out to your Twilio account team. You can also dive into our guides to Market Throughput, Account-Based Throughput, and RCS messaging.