Investigate options for carrier-neutral SMS for VuFind

[dbietila]

We've consistently gotten requests to remove the need to identify phone carrier in order to use the "Text this" function in VuFind. Particularly, with AT&T dropping their email to text service, this has become more urgent.

Please investigate whether there are any plans for this in mainline VuFind releases. If none exist, please evaluate local options for providing this functionality.

[bbusenius]

@dbietila

Investigation Summary

Mainline VuFind Status

There are no active plans for carrier-neutral SMS in mainline VuFind. VUFIND-566 for Twilio support was created in 2012 but hasn't been updated since 2015 with no work completed. This issue affects all VuFind installations, but upstream has effectively abandoned it.

Current Implementation

VuFind's SMS feature works by:

1. User enters phone number and selects carrier from dropdown
2. System constructs email address: phonenumber@carrier-gateway.com
3. Sends email via VuFind's mailer, which carrier converts to SMS

The problem: Email-to-SMS gateways are being phased out by carriers (AT&T already discontinued, others likely to follow).

Recommended Solution: Modern SMS API Service

Implement a new SMS driver using Twilio, AWS SNS, or similar SMS API.

Benefits:

• No carrier selection needed - just phone number
• Reliable delivery with tracking
• Won't break when carriers drop email gateways
• Works internationally if needed
• Minimal code changes - template already handles hiding carrier dropdown when not needed

Cost considerations:

• Twilio: ~$0.0083/SMS (pricing details)
• AWS SNS: ~$0.00883/SMS ($0.00581 + $0.00302 carrier fee) after 100 free messages per month (pricing details)
• Vonage: ~$0.0075/SMS (pricing details)
• Plivo: Starting at ~$0.005/SMS with 10DLC registration requirements (pricing details)

There will be an ongoing cost that needs to be evaluated based on expected message volume.

Implementation approach:

1. Create new local SMS driver class (e.g., local/module/VuFind/src/VuFind/SMS/Twilio.php) following existing Clickatell.php pattern
2. Driver returns empty carrier list, template automatically hides carrier dropdown (logic already exists at sms.phtml:29-42)
3. Add Twilio credentials to local/config/vufind/sms.ini
4. Install Twilio PHP SDK via Composer

This is a long-term solution that eliminates dependency on disappearing email-to-SMS gateways.

Next Steps

1. Evaluate and approve SMS API service budget based on expected usage
2. Choose provider (Twilio recommended for documentation/support)
3. Implement driver class
4. Test and deploy