At Telgorithm, we often get asked about RCS (Rich Communication Services) and where it fits into our roadmap. In our industry, the term we use is actually RBM (Rich Business Messaging), which is essentially the business-focused counterpart to RCS, similar to application-to-person (A2P) or business-to-consumer messaging, while RCS serves as the person-to-person (P2P) equivalent. For simplicity, we’ll refer to it as RCS throughout this article, though our perspective focuses on its role in business-to-consumer messaging.

This feature, marketed as the next generation of SMS, promises multimedia capabilities, read receipts, more interactive and branded texts to customers, and other app-like functionalities directly in the messaging app. With major industry players creating a good amount of buzz around RCS, it’s no surprise that businesses are curious about it.

Where Is RCS Right Now?

RCS has garnered plenty of hype in recent years, but the reality is that industry-wide support is still far from universal. Despite occasional headlines about carrier and device updates, RCS still faces hurdles. Apple, for example, has yet to fully integrate RCS into iMessage, limiting its reach across devices. Additionally, the underlying technology requires more infrastructure investment from the MNOs (mobile network operators).

However, when our team met with key stakeholders at industry events like MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) and MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Las Vegas this year, RCS proved to be a major focal point. The consensus was that full RCS support across platforms and carriers likely remains a few years away, and that while progress is being made, RCS adoption is still largely in the experimental phase for many operators.

Another important factor to keep in mind is that RCS will not serve as a workaround for the compliance requirements and registration enforcements being placed on 10DLC messaging. In fact, there is already just as much if not more scrutiny on RCS.  

Our Focus at Telgorithm: Supporting the Present, Planning for the Future

We see RCS as a key capability of A2P 10DLC messaging as it's really a message type that can be sent within the 10DLC ecosystem, and as such we are excited to be preparing to support RCS in the near future.

Our approach to RCS will be innovative and designed to meet the same high standards we’ve set for 10DLC messaging: reliability, transparency, and exceptional customer support. We see a promising opportunity to leverage RCS to enhance business messaging capabilities without compromising on compliance or deliverability.

As RCS adoption continues to grow, Telgorithm is taking proactive steps to ensure we’re ready to meet customer demand. We’re excited to announce that an innovative approach to RCS is on our near term roadmap—details to follow soon.

In the meantime, we remain focused on providing the best possible solutions for 10DLC messaging today, while keeping a close eye on the future of business messaging and channels. Stay tuned for updates on how Telgorithm plans to shape the RCS landscape in the months ahead by signing up for our newsletter or following my updates on LinkedIn.