FORT MYERS, Fla.—Oct. 29, 2013—Interop Technologies, a provider of core wireless solutions for advanced messaging, over-the-air handset management, policy control, and connectivity gateways, today announced that the GSM Association (GSMA) has designated Interop as an accredited Hosted Rich Communication Services (RCS) solution provider. Accredited solutions fully comply with RCS specification version 1.2.2, which enables operators to compete directly with popular over-the-top (OTT) services.

To achieve accreditation, the Interop technology passed a series of rigorous tests designed to demonstrate interoperability between the RCS solution and RCS clients and networks. The Interop solution enables operators to offer subscribers an enhanced communication option without the need to deploy a full IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture. By selecting the Interop cloud deployment option, operators can launch RCS quickly, avoiding costly changes to their current networks. 

In addition to RCS version 1.2.2, the Interop solution also complies with the joyn Blackbird release, which includes a number of priority RCS version 5.1 features. These include the ability for users to conduct IP-based video and voice calls, transfer files within group and individual chats, and share location information. The Blackbird release also includes “store and forward” capabilities for chat messages and file transfers. As a result, joyn queues messages and files sent to offline contacts and forwards them as soon as the contacts have signed in.

Beyond the Blackbird release, the Interop solution supports numerous advanced RCS 5.1 features. These include the ability to share social presence information and network-based SMS and MMS interworking, which enables users to send both IP-based and SMS/MMS messages from a single RCS application. 

“By selecting an accredited provider, operators introducing RCS can be assured that the solution meets GSMA standards and interoperates with accredited RCS clients and operator networks,” said Josh Wigginton, Director of Product Management, Next-Generation Networks, Interop Technologies. “Our cloud-based deployment option gives operators the most rapid, cost-effective means of introducing RCS and ensures immediate availability of the latest RCS features as the service evolves.”