In the world of mobile communications, competition isn’t what it used to be. Historically, the greatest threat to regional carriers’ profitability came from national operators providing the latest handsets, aggressive marketing campaigns, and wide reach. Regional carriers have competed with these large, established players through superior customer service, a strong local presence, better networks, and more personal relationships with subscribers.

As is typical at the beginning of the year, wireless industry experts have been busy making predictions for 2013. It's no surprise that RCS is expected to see continued adoption this year, after U.S.–based MetroPCS and operators throughout Europe jumped on board in 2012.

The growing popularity of “over-the-top” (OTT) services such as Skype, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger that compete directly with mobile operators' traditional messaging services has resulted in much speculation about the future of SMS.