What public bodies send
| Message | Type | How it is sent |
|---|---|---|
| Public notices, deadlines, registration windows | Broadcast | Contact group by district, ward or register; scheduled |
| Service interruptions (water, power, roads) | Broadcast, urgent | Immediate send to the affected area's group |
| Bill, levy and licence reminders | Transactional | Personalised upload from the billing register, or API |
| Payment confirmations | Transactional | API from the revenue or payment system |
| Appointment and collection notices (permits, IDs, results) | Transactional | Upload or API |
| Public health and safety alerts | Broadcast | Group by area |
| Citizen reports and feedback | Two-way | Keyword per service on the shared short code, routed to the right inbox |
| Staff and field-team communication | Broadcast | Internal contact groups |
Reaching citizens who are not online
A ministry, council or utility has to reach people who may have no data bundle, no smartphone and no email, often in areas where a printed notice takes days to circulate. SMS reaches every citizen with a phone on any of the three networks, and a delivery report per recipient gives the sending office a record of who received the notice.
Personalised reminders from a register
Where the body holds a register — ratepayers, licence holders, applicants — reminders can be personalised: export the register with the phone number and the fields to merge, upload with one template, and schedule the send. The upload is validated first, so wrong numbers are reported rather than sent to.
Two-way citizen feedback
Register a keyword per service — WATER, ROADS, WASTE — on the shared short code and messages starting with that word are routed to the responsible department's inbox, threaded by the citizen's number so the follow-up reply reads in context. It gives citizens a reporting channel that costs them one SMS and gives the department a searchable log. See two-way SMS.
Integrating with revenue and service systems
Where a payment or case management system exists, confirmations and status notices can be automated through the SMS API: one call when a payment posts, when a permit is ready, when a case is updated. For high-volume systems, an SMPP bind keeps a persistent connection. Every API request and every message is logged, and API keys are restricted to whitelisted addresses.
Sender identity
Official notices need an official sender. Request a branded sender ID (up to 11 characters, for example the council or agency's short name) with an authorization letter on the body's letterhead; once approved, every message shows it. Consider separate IDs for separate services so citizens learn what each is for.
Data handling and residency
Citizen numbers and message content are personal data. Ontech BulkSMS is operated by Ontech Solutions Limited, a Zambian company in Lusaka, registered with the Data Protection Commission (DP000394); the platform's Privacy & Data Protection notice sets out what is stored, why and for how long. Organisations let several officers share one credit balance while recording which officer sent each message, and delivery reports can be exported for records.
Procurement and payment
A department can start on a free account with trial credits and buy credits by mobile money; larger volumes, invoicing and enterprise arrangements are agreed through info@ontech.co.zm.