Definition
The TDRA (Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority) is the UAE's telecoms regulator. It sets the rules for business messaging and telemarketing, including sender ID registration, the AD prefix on promotional SMS, opt-out handling and quiet hours.
The UAE has two mobile operators, etisalat (e&, MCC-MNC 424-02) and du (424-03). Business sender IDs are registered through the operators: alphanumeric IDs in Latin or Arabic of up to 11 characters, with one sender ID per legal entity per use case.
Promotional senders must carry the AD- prefix, which tells the recipient (and the network) that the message is advertising. Transactional senders for OTPs, alerts and service updates are registered separately without it.
Consent and opt-out: businesses need verifiable opt-in records (source, time and channel), every promotional SMS must carry an opt-out keyword such as STOP or ايقاف, and opt-outs are honoured across the network. TDRA's spam policy bars marketing text messages between 21:00 and 07:00 UAE time; OTPs and alerts can be sent at any time.
TDRA also regulates telemarketing calls, including licensing, permitted calling hours and the national Do Not Call Registry. Details change, so confirm current rules with TDRA or your provider during onboarding.
OmniChannels.ai handles UAE sender ID registration through BroadNet, with registration fees passed through at cost.
Example
Promotional sender: AD-ACME. Transactional sender: ACME.