The move will see the addition of such features as the ability to chat over Wifi or mobile data, send and receive high-resolution photos and videos, and have read receipts on messages. In addition, users with the app, will now be able to name groups, add and remove people to and from groups, and see if people haven’t seen the latest messages.
The news comes as pressure is mounting for the carrier community to roll out RCS as a permanent replacement to SMS and MMS. Google’s alternative does not require customers to be tied into any single app or platform, It will work across devices and carriers.
To date Google has already enabled these chat features to users in the UK, France and Mexico, and says it will continue to roll this out to all its customers.
In 2018 a report from Mobilesquared reported that RCS was set to top one billion in 2019, before rising to 3.2 billion by 2023. According to the report more than 168 mobile operators are set to support RCS by the end of 2019, rising to 486 by the end of 2023, as interest in the messaging technology grows.
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon will base the new platform on the RCS standard and developed with WIT Software, it has the ability to create a messaging ecosystem that allows consumer brands to create a new level of engagement and meet growing demands for content rich, personalises interactions via messaging communications.
