Messaging Guidelines: Limits, Compliance, and Client Responsibility - GOCare Reach

This article outlines the proper use of GOCare Reach for informational messaging. It includes technical delivery constraints, acceptable use cases, prohibited practices, and the responsibilities clients assume when sending messages through the platform.

GOCare Reach allows broadband providers to send subscriber-relevant informational messages via SMS or email to segmented groups of subscribers or interested prospects. While highly flexible, this tool must be used in accordance with strict technical and regulatory guidelines.

This article explains how to use GOCare Reach responsibly, outlines the types of messages that are permitted, and defines what content or audience targeting is not allowed.

GOCare Reach is designed for subscriber-relevant informational messaging and account-specific updates, not high-volume promotional campaigns.

You may send campaigns that:

• Provide subscriber account-related updates, such as service appointments, billing changes, or payment confirmations.

• Notify interested prospects of service availability in new build areas

• Inform subscribers of upcoming planned maintenance windows or downtime

• Offer contextual and personalized service upgrades that match the subscriber’s usage, billing tier, or account lifecycle stage

These messages must be:

• Sent only to subscribers or prospects who have expressly opted in or requested updates.

• Delivered in an informational tone. Messages should clearly explain the benefit or relevance without urgency, pressure, or promotional flair.

• Relevant to the recipient’s context or expressed interests.

• Promotional offers (e.g., speed upgrades or bundled discounts) should be personalized, genuinely beneficial and infrequent, limited to 2–3 times per year per subscriber.

GOCare Reach should not be used for:

• Outage alerts or time-sensitive notifications
  The system sends one message every three seconds—delays are built in to protect deliverability.

• Unsolicited broadcast messages
  All recipients must have an existing or pending relationship with your organization and must have expressly opted in.

• Contacts who have opted out
  Respect all unsubscribe requests and suppression lists.

• Purchased or third-party lists
  Messages should never be sent to unknown or externally sourced recipients.

• Mass marketing or frequent promotions
  Avoid repetitive or generalized promotional outreach that doesn’t reflect the subscriber’s actual needs. Repeated sales offers or promotional blasts are likely to result in opt-outs or carrier filtering.

GOCare Reach is built for non-urgent, managed outreach. It is not suitable for real-time messaging.

Key limitations:

• Message pacing: 1 SMS every 3 seconds. This prevents large-scale overload and ensures compliance with carrier best practices.

• Manual scheduling: Users must compose, approve, and launch each campaign manually.

• Connect integration required: Two-way replies and full context depend on GOCare Connect being enabled for your environment.

⚠️ Tip: Use Messenger or Outage IQ for time-sensitive alerts or billing automation.

Messages sent through GOCare Reach are not reviewed, approved, or monitored by GOCare. By using the platform, clients acknowledge and agree to the following:

• You are solely responsible for ensuring messages comply with federal, state, and carrier regulations (e.g., TCPA, CTIA).

• You must maintain and honor opt-in/opt-out preferences, unsubscribe mechanisms, and contact list hygiene.

• You may not use the platform to send spam, repetitive promotional material, or high-volume marketing blasts.

Violations, such as sending to opted-out or unverified contacts, are the client’s responsibility and may affect deliverability, harm subscriber trust, and result in suspension of SMS messaging services, including GOCare Messenger alerts.

Carriers, without prior warning, reserve the right to block ALL messaging on a number for perceived violations.

Messaging violations using GOCare Reach may result in the loss of GOCare Messenger alerts (statement available, payment due, payment posted, appointment reminders, outages alerts (where applicable), and more).