I often write about how OTTs can suffer from quality of service issues that operator-provided, standards-based services do not. I ran across an article last week that illustrates this point quite well. Path, a messaging app similar to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, recently sent out an SMS to everyone in a group of users' phonebooks—from ex-boyfriends to business associates—indicating that the sender had photos available for them on Path. “Not the kind of thing you would want sent to your buddy's wife on a Friday night,” the article aptly notes.
After the problem was identified, the texts continued to be sent—even after the user uninstalled the Path app. Although Path's terms and conditions require users to grant the app permission to “read your contacts and call log,” this was clearly an unintended use of that information.
Path's recent bug is but one of many examples of how OTT apps simply don't offer users the same quality of service as telco-grade solutions. With RCS, operators can provide in-demand, enhanced features while also ensuring the security and quality of service that OTTs cannot. And, because RCS interworks with SMS and MMS, it provides the universal reach that OTTs operating in closed communities never will. These clear advantages will enable operators to secure subscriber loyalty in the face of an increasingly competitive mobile environment.
