Send SMS via API: Python, Node.js, PHP and cURL Examples

curl -X POST https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendSms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BROADNET_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "senderId": "OmniDemo",
    "destinationNumber": "447700900123",
    "message": "Your OmniDemo code is 482913",
    "messageType": "TEXT"
  }'

// Node.js 18+ (built-in fetch)
const res = await fetch("https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendSms", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.BROADNET_TOKEN}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    senderId: "OmniDemo",
    destinationNumber: "447700900123",
    message: "Your OmniDemo code is 482913",
    messageType: "TEXT",
  }),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
const messageId = await res.text(); // plain-text message ID

import os
import requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendSms",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['BROADNET_TOKEN']}"},
    json={
        "senderId": "OmniDemo",
        "destinationNumber": "447700900123",
        "message": "Your OmniDemo code is 482913",
        "messageType": "TEXT",
    },
    timeout=15,
)
r.raise_for_status()
message_id = r.text  # plain-text message ID, not JSON

<?php
$payload = json_encode([
    "senderId" => "OmniDemo",
    "destinationNumber" => "447700900123",
    "message" => "Your OmniDemo code is 482913",
    "messageType" => "TEXT",
]);

$ch = curl_init("https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendSms");
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_POST => true,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 15,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
        "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("BROADNET_TOKEN"),
        "Content-Type: application/json",
    ],
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $payload,
]);
$messageId = curl_exec($ch);
$status = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
echo $status . " " . $messageId . PHP_EOL;

2603121407537573731

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendSms",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['BROADNET_TOKEN']}"},
    json={
        "senderId": "OmniDemo",
        "destinationNumber": "971500000000",
        "message": "رمز التحقق الخاص بك هو 482913",
        "messageType": "UNICODE",
        "campaignName": "login-otp",
    },
    timeout=15,
)

How do I count segments before sending?

Call POST /sms/identify with the message. It returns the detected encoding, character count, segment count and per-segment limit.

curl -X POST https://api.broadnet.me/sms/identify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BROADNET_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "message": "Your OmniDemo code is 482913" }'

{
  "message": "Your OmniDemo code is 482913",
  "messageType": "TEXT",
  "smscount": 1,
  "charCount": 28,
  "charLimit": 160
}

You can pass smsParts (from smscount), charCount and charLimit into a send request. GSM-7 text may be labelled GSM-7 in the response; send it as TEXT.

How do I send to many numbers?

Use POST /sms/sendbulk, a multipart/form-data request with a recipient file and a JSON string of settings.

curl -X POST https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendbulk \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BROADNET_TOKEN" \
  -F destinationNumberFile=@recipients.csv \
  -F 'bulkRequest={"senderId":"OmniDemo","message":"Your statement is ready in the app.","messageType":"TEXT","campaignName":"oct-statements","allowDuplicate":false}'

import json
import os
import requests

bulk_request = {
    "senderId": "OmniDemo",
    "message": "Your statement is ready in the app.",
    "messageType": "TEXT",
    "campaignName": "oct-statements",
    "allowDuplicate": False,
}

with open("recipients.csv", "rb") as f:
    r = requests.post(
        "https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendbulk",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['BROADNET_TOKEN']}"},
        files={"destinationNumberFile": ("recipients.csv", f, "text/csv")},
        data={"bulkRequest": json.dumps(bulk_request)},
        timeout=60,
    )
print(r.json())

The response includes bulkSessionId and a bulkListInfo object with total, validCount, invalidCount and duplicate. Store bulkSessionId with the campaign. Jobs can be listed, paused, resumed and aborted with the endpoints in the reference. You can also check numbers before a big send with POST /sms/lookup; see our HLR lookup guide.

How do I receive delivery status?

Delivery statuses are pushed to the webhook URL configured on your account. A message moves through SUBMITTED and SENT to DELIVERED, or ends as FAILED or REJECTED. You give our team the public HTTPS URL, and resellers can have one webhook per sub-account.

Payload fields vary by channel, and the API spec does not define a single webhook schema, so log the raw body first and map fields from a real event on your account. A minimal receiver stores the event and acknowledges quickly:

import express from "express";

const app = express();

app.post("/webhooks/omnichannels", express.json(), async (req, res) => {
  await saveStatusEvent(req.body); // your storage; process asynchronously
  res.sendStatus(200);             // acknowledge fast
});

app.listen(3000);

Make processing idempotent, because the same status can arrive twice, and never let a late SENT overwrite a stored DELIVERED. If your endpoint was down, POST /sms/resendDlr re-pushes receipts for a date range:

curl -X POST https://api.broadnet.me/sms/resendDlr \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BROADNET_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "startDate": "2026-10-09",
    "endDate": "2026-10-10",
    "senderId": "OmniDemo",
    "messageStatus": "DELIVERED"
  }'

Read more in the webhooks guide and in message delivery statuses explained.

How do I handle errors and avoid duplicates?

Handle the HTTP status first, then the error body. Retry only network errors, 429 and 5xx.

Errors raised by the API use a five-field JSON body with status, error, message, errorCode and requestUri. The default documented REST limit is 200 requests per second sustained; your account's limits are confirmed with your credentials.

The API accepts no idempotency key. A request can succeed while its response is lost, and a blind retry then sends twice. Write a pending row keyed by your own operation ID before calling, store the returned message ID, and after a timeout check for a webhook status before sending again. For bulk sends, set allowDuplicate to false. Details are in Errors and limits.

Worked example: login codes for a regional app

"Souq Rafiq" (synthetic), a UAE retailer, sends login codes by SMS.

1. The auth service generates a six-digit code, stores a hash with a five-minute expiry and writes a pending send row.
2. It calls /sms/sendSms with messageType=UNICODE for Arabic users and TEXT for English users.
3. On 200, it stores the message ID.
4. The webhook handler marks the row DELIVERED, FAILED or REJECTED.
5. If the status is not DELIVERED after a short wait, the app offers a resend and, if configured, another channel. See channel fallback.
6. Rate limits on code requests per number and per IP protect against abuse; see SMS pumping prevention.

What are the common mistakes?

• Calling r.json() on the send response. It is plain text.
• Wrong field names. Use senderId, destinationNumber and message; fields such as to, from or text are not part of this endpoint.
• Plus signs and leading zeros in numbers.
• Forgetting UNICODE for Arabic, which garbles the text.
• Unregistered sender IDs. Some countries block or replace them; check the sender ID rules for your destination, and ask us to handle the registration.
• Treating 200 as delivered.
• Token in a mobile app or browser, where anyone can extract it.
• Limits: this guide shows the common request. Optional fields such as scheduling formats should be confirmed with our team.

How OmniChannels.ai helps

OmniChannels.ai sends A2P SMS over BroadNet's direct operator connectivity, with two-way SMS, sender IDs, Unicode and Arabic, HLR lookup and SMPP 3.4 for high volume. The REST API at https://api.broadnet.me uses a Bearer token and also covers WhatsApp, RCS and other channels, with delivery statuses normalised into one webhook format. Our team prepares sender ID registrations with you. See the SMS API reference or the SMS channel. The same API calls are part of a CPaaS platform and messaging API.