Yes, you can add as many additional service code extensions or sub-codes as you require free of charge.

It depends on each country's laws and regulatory bodies. For example, in Nigeria, a company must apply for a code from the NCC (National Communication Commission) and motivate the use of the service code (expect the approval process to take between 3 to 5 months to process the code). In South Africa, WASPA handles all applications for USSD service codes across all MNOs.

Do inquire whether the Clickatell Support Team has USSD service code stock available on hand. Reach out to our Support team if you have any questions.

USSD sessions are billed on a post-paid basis. The final monthly amount to be paid is determined by the pricing model you contract for with Clickatell.

All payments for USSD service codes need to be made with the specific telecommunication company or regulatory body.

The cost involved in acquiring a dedicated USSD service code will differ depending on each country's laws and regulatory bodies, and their respective fees for acquiring the USSD service code.

For standard-billed sessions, the end-user's mobile handset is charged directly, while for all reverse-billed clients each USSD session is charged by the specific MNO and billed based on the session length. Note that MNOs can have different session lengths and maximum duration, but they typically charge for every 20 seconds of the end-users utilization. All MNO costs incurred by reversed-billed clients will be billed directly to the clients via the MNO or passed on by Clickatell.

Please contact our Support Team for more information around specific MNO costs.

If you fail to provide a detailed description of the intended use of your requested USSD service code, the national regulatory body may have to delay activating your USSD request until they get an appropriate description.

Clickatell will invoice each client in the month proceeding the activation date for the usage of that month.

• Dedicated: A dedicated USSD service code is a code typically owned by one account and used solely by one user for their company or service. It has only one segment, e.g. *111#. You can add as many sub-codes (extensions) as required. It is more expensive than other types of USSD codes.

• Semi-dedicated: A semi-dedicated service code is dedicated to one account, but shared among other accounts. It is less costly compared to a dedicated code.

• Shared: A shared service code is a code that is shared among multiple companies or services. You can add as many sub-code (extensions) as required, e.g. *111*01*xxx#. Each company is allocated a channel on our dedicated sub-code (e.g. *111*01*xxx# and other sub-codes or strings), but the dedicated parent code (e.g. *111*) is shared. A good case study is Orange #303# My Store.

USSD allows for a maximum of 182 characters. However, we recommend that you remain within a 160 character boundary due to differences in the maximum number of characters accepted by the different Mobile Network Operators.

The Clickatell’s USSD Service is available on the following networks:

• Nigeria: Airtel, 9Mobile, GloMobile and MTN

• South Africa: Cell C, MTN, Telkom and Vodacom

This service will soon be expanded to more countries in Africa as per our roadmap.