What is RCS ?

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a communication protocol between mobile-telephone operators and between phone and carrier, aimed at replacing SMS messages with a text-message system that is richer and can transmit in-call multimedia.

RCS is designed to work across all carriers and phones, aiming to provide a unified and consistent messaging experience that works globally. It operates on the principle of providing an open, interoperable messaging service that can work across different devices and network conditions, leveraging the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) infrastructure to ensure quality and reliability. RCS seeks to improve the standard messaging experience on mobile devices and compete with over-the-top (OTT) messaging services by offering these enhanced features natively.

It provides a more advanced messaging framework that supports features beyond traditional text messaging (SMS) and multimedia messaging (MMS), such as:

High-quality image and video sharing: Users can send and receive high-resolution images and videos. Group chat capabilities: RCS enables users to create group chats, similar to other instant messaging services.

Read receipts and typing indicators: Users can see when their messages have been read and when someone is typing a response.

Location sharing: Allows users to share their location with others in real-time.

File transfer: Supports the sending and receiving of different file types.

Video calls and voice over IP (VoIP): Integrates voice and video calling capabilities within the messaging platform.