Throughput is how fast a channel can send messages, measured in messages per second. It's set by your provider or the mobile operator behind your channel, and depends on things like the kind of number you have and the country you're sending to.

Throughput matters most when you send to a lot of contacts at once. At 1 message per second, a broadcast to 10,000 contacts takes almost 3 hours to send. At 10 messages per second it takes about 17 minutes, and at 100 messages per second under 2 minutes.

Slow channels

If you are working with a lot of contacts, the channel list marks channels that send slowly, so you know what to expect before starting a big broadcast:

• Slow channels send fewer than 10 messages per second.
• Very slow channels send 1 message per second or fewer.

Messages are never lost because a channel is slow. They wait their turn and are sent as fast as the channel allows.

Raising your throughput

Throughput isn't always fixed. Depending on your channel, you may be able to raise it:

• Negotiate with your provider or operator. Local aggregators and mobile operators often set throughput per account or short code, and can raise it when you need to send more, sometimes for a fee. Ask your account manager what's possible.
• Pay for faster sending. Many providers offer faster senders or throughput upgrades. For example, Twilio short codes send 100 messages per second, and you can buy higher throughput for short codes and toll-free numbers through Twilio's sales team. Twilio explains the rates for each kind of number in its guide to rate limits.
• Send from more numbers. Outside the US and Canada, you can often add numbers to send faster, e.g. with a Twilio Messaging Service that sends from a pool of numbers. In the US and Canada, carriers don't allow adding numbers just to send faster. There, throughput on standard numbers depends on your A2P 10DLC registration and its trust score.

Once your provider has raised your throughput, contact us through the support widget so we can update your channel to send at the new rate.

To learn more about channels in general, see Introduction to Channels.