In July 2003 Canada’s mobile phone operators came together with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) to offer Common Short Codes (CSCs) which may be activated across carriers’ networks. The CWTA has been assigned the role of administrator of the Common Short Code registry on behalf of the industry.

Short Codes are numbers to which a text message can be sent and are typically much shorter than a 10-digit mobile phone number. Short Codes are easy to remember and take less time to type than 10-digit numbers. Short Codes can be used for a number of mobile messaging applications. These include contest, promotions, mobile coupons, subscriptions and on-demand content.

Short Codes are a way to use Text Messaging that lets users interact with media outlets, companies, governments and other sources of information, products or services. Like Text Messaging, Short Codes are easy, fast and discrete. Instead of sending messages to a 10-digit phone number, you send to a Short Code. These are five or six digits long and often spell a word or brand name. For example, the code “72346” spells “RADIO” on a phone’s keypad. This makes Short Codes much easier to remember. Short Codes take your everyday experiences and make them interactive, and take interactive experiences and make them faster and easier. For example, if your favourite radio station has a Short Code, you may be able to use it to request songs, enter contests, vote on talk show issues, receive traffic and weather reports, and access many other services. Unlike a 1-800 number, Short Codes make busy signals and waiting on hold a thing of the past: your request or vote gets delivered while you get on with your life. Unlike e-mail, you can use a Short Code from almost anywhere: you don’t need a computer as your message is delivered right from your phone.