Text Messaging History
Text messaging as a service started back at the 1980s in the form of SMS. The idea was that one cellphone user could send a quick short message to another cellphone user. It was first to be provided by Mobile Network Operators (or MNOs). Every cellphone, no matter if it’s high or low tech, has the capability to use it natively. Its greatest weakness? It can only support text of as much as 160 characters.
SMS’s weakness is what made MMS, its successor, sound like a great idea, at least at first. MMS was developed by 3GPP in the early 2000s and promised to deliver what SMS couldn’t. Pictures, videos, and audio clips. However, it turned out to be really disappointing and underwhelming. It can only support up to 600 kilobytes of media. not great, Since an average picture today has a file size of 3-4 megabytes, the compression MMS uses definitely reduces the quality of media.
What is RCS?
RCS is a combination of SMS and MMS; it’s the next generation of messaging! It is being developed for as long as 10 years now and it’s the messaging protocol that will eventually replace SMS. You might also have heard it as Advanced Messaging, Advanced Communications, joyn, Message+ or SMS+. Currently, RCS is supported by more than 50 operators in 33 countries and over the next 12 months, the GSMA forecasts it will be launched by more than 40 new operators in 30 countries, resulting in RCS’ availability in 5 regions worldwide. Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that RCS’ main mobile OS providers currently are Google and Microsoft.
But what makes RCS so great? It’s all the features it provides! One to one, as well as group chats, file transferring, content sharing, social presence information, IP Voice Call, Best Effort Video Call, Geolocation exchange, Audio Messaging, and the list does not end there. With capabilities like this, RCS can also provide services like payments, booking, event scheduling, click-to-call, coupons and more. As a last note, keep in mind that RCS also allows you to know if other users you are chatting with, have received and read the message.
RCS for your business
At the moment, lots of companies, businesses and service providers worldwide use SMS as a communication channel. As a way to reach your audiences, SMS is very effective and has high penetration but its weak spot is its content; the fact that it can only support plain text. RCS overcomes this limitation and enables businesses to send messages that customers can interact with, instead of just reading a boring text.
For instance, a message from your customer’s favorite shoe e-shop offering them a discount on a great pair of shoes can now provide them with the full shopping experience, including browsing products, adding them to their basket and even ordering. Moreover, each message will have a verified sender ID and customized branding icons to legitimize the whole process.
What’s more? Customers who already opted-in to SMS messages sent from your business, get this upgraded experience automatically, without any additional software or hardware installations.
Google RCS and Routee
Google has created an Early Access Program to make it easier for brands to start participating in RCS business messaging (the mobile industry’s term for rich business-to-consumer messages). AMD Telecom is officially a compliant RCS early access partner of Google and Routee, AMD Telecom’s CPaaS, is one of the few platforms globally supporting Google RCS.
Talk to our team for more information and get a taste of RCS now!