RCS: Where are we now?

Last year the industry continued to debate whether RCS, branded joyn™ by the GSMA, would take hold as subscribers' go-to communication tool in the face of growing OTT options. Though joyn is yet to be a household name, it certainly gained significant momentum in 2013, with 85 operators committed to launch across 35 countries by 2015.

There are 10 accredited downloadable clients available today, and perhaps more importantly, there are seven accredited device manufacturers for joyn and more than 30 devices on which joyn is available natively. This means a growing number of subscribers will have joyn available on their device out of the box. As these numbers increase, and as consumers continue to replace handsets more frequently, it's clear that RCS penetration will grow.

An all-IP world is upon us, and the fragmented selection of OTT options simply can't provide the ubiquity and global interoperability of RCS. As more operators get on board, RCS is sure to gain the same subscriber stickiness we've seen with other operator-provided services. Take a look at the Rich Communications section of GSMA's site for some great business case videos from operators who have launched RCS and for the latest RCS stats and facts.