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WelcoYour alerts, by text.

Ignition SMS without Twilio for Canadian plants and utilities

You can get Ignition SMS without Twilio by adding your Welco address to an Ignition email roster. Your standby operator reads the tag path and reading in a single text. Nobody at the plant tops up a US-dollar balance or files number registrations, and you skip the US$945 Twilio Notification module.

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  • No SMS or Twilio module
  • No messaging account to fund
  • No number registration to file

Works by email with

  • Ignition
  • PLC alarms
  • Pump & lift stations
  • Tank & well levels

Published:

Setting up alerts with Ignition + your own Twilio account takes 4 steps. With Welco it takes 4.

With Ignition + your own Twilio account

  1. Buy the Twilio Notification module
  2. Open and fund a Twilio account
  3. Register and verify a sending number
  4. Top up the balance as alarms use it

With Welco

  1. Use the email profile you have
  2. Add your Welco address to a roster
  3. Welco sends from its own alert numbers
  4. Operators confirm with YES
Animation: a Ignition + your own Twilio account setup and a Welco setup are built side by side.
  • Inductive Automation lists the Twilio Notification module at US$945, and it needs your own Twilio account.
  • Your Twilio number must pass carrier registration. An unverified toll-free number can't text US or Canadian phones at all.
  • With Welco, Ignition only sends an email. Welco handles the texting side.
  • Keep the Twilio module if you need voice calls or already run a registered Twilio number.

Twilio module or Welco: who should pick which

The Twilio route is a good one for some plants. The top row is where Welco saves work, the bottom row is where the module still wins.

  • Pick Welco for a low-volume site

    One low-volume site on the Ignition forum sends 400 to 500 alarm texts a month. It asked for monthly billing instead of manual prepaid top-ups, a common wish for small Canadian utilities too.

  • Pick Welco to skip registration paperwork

    Texting from your own number now means carrier registration, and one toll-free verification covers both US and Canadian phones. Read how toll-free verification works and 10DLC for alert texts to see what you avoid.

  • Pick Welco to keep Ignition on plain email

    The gateway sends a normal alarm email through the profile you already have. The Ignition gateway alarm setup names each menu.

  • Keep the module if operators need a call

    Pair it with the Voice module. Welco never places a call. A WIN-911 notifier with voice is another route.

  • Keep it if Twilio already runs well for you

    If the account is funded and the number is registered, most of the work is done. Some teams also prefer every alarm setting inside the gateway.

  • Keep it for operators outside the Live countries

    Welco texts mobile numbers in Canada, the US, the UK and the Netherlands for now. Other countries are in early access.

Running Ignition texts, before and after Welco

Your own Twilio account

  • A prepaid balance someone has to watch and top up before it runs dry.
  • Toll-free verification to file, and to keep current as the rules change.
  • Two vendors to call, both billing in US dollars, when an operator says the texts stopped.

An email roster pointed at Welco

  • Monthly billing with no per-user fees and nothing to top up.
  • Welco sends from its own alerts-only numbers, so your plant files no paperwork.
  • A delivery report says why a text didn't reach a phone.

Your own Twilio account vs Welco for Ignition texts

Module prices are from Inductive Automation's price list and registration rules from Twilio's own blog and changelog, all read in October 2026. All prices are in US dollars (USD). Customers in Canada pay in US dollars too. Other choices sit in our comparison of alarm texting tools.

Module to buy

Ignition + your own Twilio account
Twilio Notification module, US$945 as listed. SMS and Voice modules are also US$945 each
Ignition + Welco
None for texting. Ignition sends a normal alarm email

Messaging account

Ignition + your own Twilio account
Your own Twilio account, with a balance you keep funded
Ignition + Welco
No account of your own. See Welco pricing

Number registration

Ignition + your own Twilio account
Toll-free numbers must be verified. Since February 17, 2026, new submissions need a business registration number such as an EIN
Ignition + Welco
You verify your business with Welco once. Welco sends from alerts-only numbers

If registration lapses

Ignition + your own Twilio account
Texts from unverified toll-free numbers to US phones are blocked, since January 31, 2024. Unverified toll-free numbers can't text Canadian phones either
Ignition + Welco
Nothing to keep up on your side

Voice calls

Ignition + your own Twilio account
Yes, with the Voice module (US$945)
Ignition + Welco
No. Texts only

Who you call for help

Ignition + your own Twilio account
Inductive Automation for the module, Twilio for the account
Ignition + Welco
Welco for the texts, your integrator for Ignition

Sources: Inductive Automation price list (read Oct 5, 2026); Twilio blog: toll-free messaging requirements (read Oct 5, 2026); Twilio changelog: business registration numbers (read Oct 5, 2026); Inductive Automation forum thread (read Oct 5, 2026)

A chlorine residual alarm from Ignition

Ignition alarm emails name the tag path, the event and the value. Welco keeps the parts an operator needs before driving out.

Alert email from ignition@scada.example.ca, subject “Alarm: Clearwell Chlorine Residual Low”. Welco trims it to one text of 96 characters: “Welco: [Clearwell] Chlorine residual LOW 0.18 mg/L, active at 12:57 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [Clearwell] Chlorine residual LOW 0.18 mg/L, active at 12:57 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters220961 credit

Animation: the alert email "Alarm: Clearwell Chlorine Residual Low" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [Clearwell] Chlorine residual LOW 0.18 mg/L, active at 12:57 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."

A one-text rule keeps each alarm to a single message, so credits stay predictable.

Point one Ignition alarm at Welco tonight

Verify your utility, invite the standby operator and route one pipeline's email to Welco.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Text my operators Ignition alarmsBook a demo

Where Welco fits for Ignition SMS without Twilio

It suits gateways that already send alarm email and sites that don't want to run a messaging account.

  • Not a carrier address that is going away

    Forum answers still suggest system.net.sendEmail to an address like number@txt.bell.ca. Bell retired that gateway on December 31, 2025, and in the US the Verizon vtext shutdown ends by March 31, 2027.

  • Not a generic SMS gateway

    Welco takes mail only from approved senders and texts only operators who replied YES. We also compare carrier gateways with alert services.

  • Night alarms to the standby phone

    Welco can send after-hours alarms to the standby operator by time-of-day routing, with no change to your rosters.

Move Ignition texts off the Twilio module in 15 minutes

Leave the Twilio profile in place until the Welco texts have run for a week.

  1. Check which pipelines use the Twilio profile

    In the Designer, open each alarm pipeline and note the notification blocks set to your Twilio profile. Those are the alarms to move.

  2. Set up Welco

    Sign up, verify your utility with its Canadian business number, and invite the operators. Each one joins with their own cellphone number and replies YES to the first text.

  3. Approve the gateway as a sender

    Add the From address of your Ignition email profile to your Welco approved senders. Other addresses are refused.

  4. Add an email block beside the Twilio block

    In the same pipelines, add a notification block that uses the email profile and a roster user whose email is your Welco address.

  5. Test, then retire the Twilio block

    Force a test alarm and compare both texts. When the Welco text is right, remove the Twilio block and stop funding the balance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I close my Twilio account after moving Ignition alarms to Welco?

Yes, once nothing else uses it. Run the Welco texts beside the Twilio texts for a week or two first. When every pipeline has moved and the tests look right, remove the Twilio blocks and stop topping up the balance. Check that no other app in the company sends through that account.

Do I have to register a phone number with the carriers for Welco?

No. Welco sends from its own alerts-only numbers, which are never shared with marketing senders. You verify your business with Welco once before sending. You don't file toll-free or 10DLC paperwork for your plant, in Canada or the US, and you don't keep a number registered yourself.

Will the text still show which Ignition tag went into alarm?

Yes. The text is built from the alarm email Ignition sends. If the email names the display path or tag, the text can too. A Welco rule can trim the long source path and keep the site, the alarm name, the value and the time.

Is Welco cheaper than the Ignition Twilio module for a small Canadian site?

It depends on your volume, but the cost shapes differ. The Twilio route means a US$945 module, as listed by Inductive Automation, plus a funded account. Welco skips the module and the account, charges no per-user, hardware or setup fee, and bills in US dollars too. Compare your own numbers on the Welco pricing page, or run real alarms through the 7-day trial and its 15 credits.

Can I keep the Ignition Voice module and use Welco for texts?

Yes. Leave the voice block in the pipelines that need a call, and add an email block that sends to your Welco address. Operators then get a text for every alarm and a call for the few you choose. Welco never calls, so voice stays with Ignition.

What if a gateway restart fires dozens of alarms at once?

Welco's alarm flood control limits the burst, so operators get a few texts that say something is wrong. The same alarm email reaches each phone only once. Every alarm still shows in Ignition as before.

Ignition alarm texts with no messaging account to run

Send the alarm email to Welco and let the operator on call get the text.

Text my operators Ignition alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing