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There seems to be a development on the much-talked of Rich Communication Services – Android RCS messaging – by Google.
The Verge has reported that in the 2nd half of June this year, Google Android will roll out the RCS, a substitute for Short Text Messaging (SMS) to users in UK & France. RCS Chat services will be provided directly by Google instead of waiting for their carriers to support it, said The Verge report.
Already, the service is out in 24 markets, according to Google. The new rollout is one more step of Android RCS messaging eventually becoming universally available for all Android users.
Some have compared the new service to iMessage service, while others say, “not so soon”. The RCS lacks encryption, it’s also linked to your phone number, so you don’t have the iMessage-style ability to chat on non-phone devices. But it’s a start, after all.
Most of the carriers around the world have agreed that this form of communication was the next-generation texting protocol to eventually replace SMS. It offers almost all the modern features of a chat service, including read receipts, high-quality attachments, & typing indicators.
In this Feb 2019, blog post, Google said:
To improve the standard messaging experience on Android, we’ve been working with many of our ecosystem partners, including Samsung, Huawei, America Movil, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telenor, and Vodafone to make it more widely available. Google has helped to launch RCS with partners in 24 countries, bringing enhanced features in your conversations like group chats, read receipts, and high quality media sharing. We will continue to work to bring better messaging to every Android user, regardless of their device or carrier.
According to Google, SMS had not “evolved to take advantage of all the features that smartphones enable today,” one of the main motivators to develop RCS.
Early this year itself, Google had made RCS messaging universally available to users across the world with 27 carriers & device manufacturers launching the service to Android users with Google.
Google had earlier tied in with Sprint, Rogers, & Telenor, & later, done a partnership with Orange, Deutsche Telekom, & Globe Telecom for RCS. The Vodafone Group RCS service is already supporting Android Messages, & had already launched across 10 markets for Vodafone subscribers globally.
According to Google, “..these partners have also committed to interconnecting through the Jibe RCS hub so that RCS messages are delivered to subscribers across carrier networks, helping RCS messaging become truly universal. We’re now partnering with carriers representing more than 1B subscribers worldwide.”
Google was also working with mobile device manufacturers to make Android Messages the default messaging app for Android devices. Mobile device brands LG, Motorola, Sony, HTC, ZTE, Micromax, HMD Global – Home of Nokia Phones, Archos, BQ, Cherry Mobile, Condor, Fly, General Mobile, Lanix, LeEco, Lava, Kyocera, MyPhone, QMobile, Symphony & Wiko, along with Pixel & Android One devices, will now “preload” Android Messages as the default messaging app on their devices.
You may click here to read more on RCS.
