Why latency still makes or breaks SMS

When a customer waits for a banking OTP, every second feels like forever. During the 2021 AWS US-EAST-1 outage, multiple CPaaS platforms reported verification-code delays topping 30 seconds—long enough for log-ins to time out and help-desk tickets to explode. According to Twilio, OTPs are mission-critical messages that must be delivered in real time; even a few seconds of lag ruins UX and drives churn.

What really slows an SMS?

The most important factors slowing down SMS delivery are extra aggregators and compliance filters. The more “hops” a message needs to take to reach its recipient, the higher the risk of failure. Besides that, messages that bypass operator vetting via grey routes run a high risk of getting throttled or blocked. Mobilesquared estimates that grey-route traffic has cost telecom operators almost USD 50 billion between 2018-2023.

Grey routes vs direct carrier links

Grey paths for SMS delivery look inexpensive, but they:

• Fail more often (no operator approval)
• Trigger fines—Brazil’s regulatorAnatel fined Claro R$ 15 million in 2023 for abusive traffic
• Enlarge the fraud surface

Direct carrier interconnects deliver the opposite: millisecond latency, operator trust, and built-in compliance.

How RGTN keeps hops—and risk—near zero

RGTN operates as both an FNO and MVNO, with Tier-1 subsidiary Redworks in the Netherlands:

• Median delivery: < 1.5 s across 200 + countries
• Geo-redundant POPskept latency < 2 s during the 2021 cloud outage while multi-hop paths spiked > 30 s
• Compliance gate: templates, sender IDs, DNC and reassigned-number checks before send—cutting blocks and fines
• Real-time receipts & cost-based A/B reportsso ops teams see every hop—or lack thereof

The takeaway for CPaaS

One extra hop can be the difference between “delivered” and “customer abandoned cart.” Direct routing isn’t just faster—it’s cheaper once you factor in retries, penalties, and brand damage.

Related reads

• SMS is here to stay
• How to stay SMS compliant

Curious what one less hop can do for your SLA? Get in touch with us and test our routes against yours for 48 hours.