The GSMA announced that Japanese mobile operators KDDI Corporation, NTT Docomo Inc and SoftBank Corp. have launched Rich Communications Services (RCS) based on the GSMA’s specifications.

The service, which is called ‘+ message’, is an upgrade to SMS and is available today to customers on smartphones and tablets, enabling them to enjoy enhanced messaging features such as chat, group chat, video, gifs, file and location sharing, amongst others. All three operators plan to transition to the GSMA’s Universal Profile specification in the future.

“This is positive news for Japanese mobile subscribers who will be able to upgrade to enhanced messaging services as well as for the continued global adoption of RCS around the world,” said Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer, GSMA. “RCS is poised for explosive growth this year with more and more operators launching the service, with many interconnecting their networks and numerous brands trialling RCS Business Messaging and we look forward to seeing this continuing over the coming months.”

All three operators are planning to launch RCS Business Messaging in the future. RCS Business Messaging enables consumers to engage directly with multiple brands from a single messaging platform, allowing them to make restaurant reservations, book train tickets or retail purchases without having to juggle numerous apps.

Several global brands are already trialling it to improve the customer experience and enable consumers to communicate with brands in a more engaging and direct manner. GSMA Intelligence estimates that the RCS Business Messaging market will be worth over $74 billion (€61.78) by 2021.

Driving adoption of RCS

Adoption of RCS is accelerating quickly around the world, with over 50 network launches as well as network interconnections. Earlier this year, the GSMA announced that Deutsche Telekom, Telenor Group, Telia Company and Vodafone Group had interconnected their networks in Europe, while América Móvil, Rogers Communications and Sprint have interconnected across the Americas. GSMA Intelligence estimates that there are currently 165 million active monthly RCS users, which is expected to double to 350 million by Q4 2018.

The GSMA is working to further spur the growth of RCS through initiatives such as the GSMA RCS Business Messaging Labs, which bring operators, marketing companies, messaging aggregators and brands together to work together on key topics such as customer experience, specifications,monetisation, privacy, security and trust and interconnection. For further information click here.

The GSMA Universal Profile for advanced messaging

The GSMA’s Universal Profile (UP) is backed by over 70 leading operators, vendors and OS providers worldwide and provides an open, consistent and global messaging service across networks and devices.

It simplifies interoperability and enables OEMs and OS providers to achieve scale and give consumers a richer and more consistent messaging experience regardless of device or network. UP 2.0 enables Application-to-Person RCS Business messaging and RCS-capable chatbots, as well as additional messaging expressiveness features. For more information about the RCS Universal Profile, click here

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