Serbia regulatory framework

RATEL in practice: numbering, sender ID and STOP for SMS in Serbia

RATEL (Republic Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services) supervises Serbia's numbering plan and A2P duties towards three local carriers: MTS (Telekom Srbija), Yettel and A1 Serbia. 4notify delivers SMS to +381 numbers via tier-1 international A2P gateway, preserving alphanumeric sender ID, automatic STOP/PREKINI handling and full delivery audit trail.

The three Serbian mobile carriers

MTS (Telekom Srbija)

Prefixes: +381 64 · +381 65 · +381 66 · +381 69

Largest carrier, part of Telekom Srbija group, ~42% market

Longest RATEL relationship — fastest sender ID approval (2-3 days).

Yettel (ex-Telenor)

Prefixes: +381 60 · +381 61 · +381 62 · +381 63

Second-largest, owned by PPF group, ~30% market

Conservative on alphanumeric IDs — requires commercial docs.

A1 Srbija (ex-Vip)

Prefixes: +381 67 · +381 68

Third, A1 Telekom Austria group, ~28% market

Good sender ID acceptance, P50 ~2.7s.

RATEL numbering plan

+381 60/61/62/63 xxxxxxYettel — mobile
+381 64/65/66 xxxxxxMTS — mobile
+381 67/68 xxxxxxA1 Srbija — mobile
+381 69 xxxxxxMTS — mobile (extension)
+381 11 xxxxxxBelgrade — landline
+381 21 xxxxxxNovi Sad — landline
+381 18 xxxxxxNiš — landline
+381 22 xxxxxxSremska Mitrovica — landline

5-step RATEL compliance flow

  1. 01

    Register alphanumeric sender ID

    Sender ID (up to 11 chars) registered once with tier-1 gateway. Commercial documentation required (Serbian IP Office or EU TM). MTS whitelists in 2-3 days; Yettel and A1 5-7.

  2. 02

    Enable STOP/PREKINI keyword

    Per RATEL guidance, every A2P sender must recognise STOP, PREKINI, PRESKOCI and HELP. 4notify handles automatically with webhook confirmation.

  3. 03

    HLR lookup and per-operator DLR

    Before dispatch, HLR identifies current carrier (~40% portability). Per-operator reason code DLR in dashboard.

  4. 04

    Compliance with Electronic Communications Law + Data Protection Law

    Law 35/2023 and Data Protection Law 87/2018 require opt-in for marketing, with soft opt-in exception for existing customers. 4notify maintains per-subject consent ledger.

  5. 05

    Per-operator latency monitoring

    Dashboard shows live P50/P95/P99 per-carrier. Typical: MTS 2.3s, Yettel 2.5s, A1 2.7s P50.

FAQ

Which local carriers does 4notify use in Serbia?

Not directly. 4notify delivers SMS via tier-1 international A2P gateway, which connects to MTS, Yettel and A1. The gateway provides unified billing, alphanumeric sender ID and per-carrier DLR without requiring a Serbian legal entity.

What are RATEL fines for SMS spam?

Law 35/2023 provides fines up to 2,000,000 RSD (~€17k) per violation. For repeated infringement amounts escalate. In parallel, the Information Commissioner can impose GDPR-equivalent fines.

How long does sender ID activation take?

Overall 2-7 business days. MTS typically 2-3; Yettel and A1 5-7. Required: trade-mark registration (Serbia or EU), sample message, declaration of use.

Does portability work in Serbia?

Yes. Since 2011 under RATEL supervision. Today ~40% have switched carriers. 4notify HLR refresh every 12h.

Is there a do-not-call register in Serbia?

Not centralised. Each carrier maintains its own opt-out list. 4notify maintains an internal per-sender STOP database applied across all carriers.

Start free

Full RATEL compliance, sender ID in 2-7 days, sr/en support.