Twilio opens up SMS API to Canadian numbers, allows texting through third-party apps

Until we get Google Voice in Canada (if we ever do) a bunch of companies are trying to fill in the sizeable gap. Twilio approaches things in a bit of a different way: they offer phone numbers to end users and developers alike in Canada, and allow for people to plug into their API to route phone calls through the service. It’s a VoIP service with a mobile-oriented twist.

Now they are opening up its SMS API to these same people to incorporate into their apps. This opens up a ton of possibilities for Canadian consumers: companies that want to send you verification codes can now do so from local numbers or, even better, group messaging apps can now plug into the Twilio API to allow you to send, for free, multiple texts to your friends with local numbers.

While the immediate potential may not be witnessed by you and I for a few months, the fact that a service like Twilio is giving app developers access to local Canadian numbers will make us less reliant on the carriers for SMS plans and, ultimately, more in control of our pocketbooks.

Check out Twilio, and read the full press release after the break.

Twilio Launches SMS API in Canada

Twilio’s Canadian SMS API allows software developers to build
applications that send and receive SMS through Canadian telephone
numbers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 13th, 2011 — Twilio
(http://www.twilio.com), the cloud communications company, announced
today the ability of Canadian phone numbers to be used with its SMS
API, enabling software developers to build applications that send and
receive text messages with Canadian phone numbers. SMS is now turned on
for existing Canadian Twilio numbers effectively immediately, and this
is built into all new numbers purchased through the web-interface or
REST API.

“At Twilio we’re passionate about making telecommunications available
to developers wordlwide,” said Patrick Malatack, product manager at
Twilio. “There is a clear demand for local SMS numbers from Canadian
developers, now that Canadian SMS is available, we can’t wait to see
what developers from the land of Alexander Graham Bell can come up
with.”

Twilio is the market-leading cloud communications platform. The company
simplifies a century of complex telecommunications technologies to use
their existing software development skills and resources to build the
next generation of cloud communications applications.

“It’s a complete thrill to use Twilio,” said Gavin Miller, owner and
developer at RandomType, a Calgary, Canada based company. “Twilio has
sparked a tremendous amount of ideas around the office. For instance, we
started a quick project to collect email addresses at an event. Twilio
SMS performed just as we had hoped, and in the course of five minutes we
had collected over 100 emails.”

“Because of the powerful and easy-to-use Voice and SMS tools Twilio
provides developers, we were able to accelerate the effectiveness of
Guardly’s API and communication platform to quickly bring together
families, friends, and authorities, such as campus security, in times of
crisis,” said Nolan Dubeau, VP of Product Engineering for Guardly, a
Toronto-based personal safety app and emergency response communications
platform. “I look forward to the innovations Guardly and other
developers in Canada can make in the coming months given the expanded
ability of Twilio’s SMS API.”

About Twilio
Twilio (www.twilio.com), the cloud communications company, is
reinventing telecom by merging the worlds of cloud computing, web
services and telecommunications. Twilio provides a telephony
infrastructure web service in the cloud, allowing web developers to
integrate phone calls, text messages, and IP voice communications into
their web, mobile, and traditional phone applications. The company is
privately held and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.