The Future Network Programme is hosting a number of events at this year’s Mobile World Congress Americas 2018 in Los Angeles covering the latest developments in Rich Communications Services. RCS and particularly RCS Business Messaging, which is helping brands to enhance their customer communications, is gaining momentum around the world with 57 global launches and 165 monthly active users which is expected to double by the end of the year. In the Americas region there has been a number of launches from major carriers in North Amercia including AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile as well as Illinois Valley Cellular, Tiercel and Tracphone, and at least three more are forecast to launch by the end of the year. To date, two Latin American operators have already launched RCS; Claro in Brazil and Telcel in Mexico. By the end of 2018, we are expecting an additional 16 launches in the LatAm region.
The Future Networks Programme will host its fourteenth GSMA RCS Business Messaging Lab, sponsored by 3Cinteractive on Tuesday 11 September at 11:00-17:30 at City Club Los Angeles. The Lab aims to bring leading stakeholders in the messaging industry together such as mobile operators, aggregators and brands to discuss the operational and commercial requirements that will enable RCS to become an industry-leading messaging platform. The Lab places a premium on networking and bringing the key players in the ecosystem together to deliver an open ecosystem. There will be a number of expert speakers from companies including 3Cinteractive, AT&T, Express, Google, Mavenir, Samsung, Vodafone and WIT Software. There will also be a Networking Drinks Reception following the presentations. To register, please click here.
The first seminar, sponsored by Mavenir and titled RCS Business Messaging: The Future of Brand Communications will take place on the 12 September at 9:30am at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It aims to cover the current state of play with RCS including the strategic vision, commercial opportunities, the role of artificial intelligence and chatbots as well as the market potential of the platform. Guest speakers from the carrier community include Doug Garland, Vice President, Innovation and Partnerships at Sprint and Oscar Gallego, Global Head of Smart Communications and Security at Vodafone who will cover the importance of operator messaging and getting it to scale. Google will also cover how to engage mobile consumers with RCS and will bring major brands including Express, Overstock, Subway and other brands to be revealed, who will showcase their exciting RCS Business Messaging campaigns and share with the audience their incredible results so far. Samsung will also showcase a number of brands on its Messaging-as-a-Platform service. For further information and to register, please click here.
The Future Networks Programme will also host a number of exclusive roundtable discussions throughout the week. This includes a carrier only roundtable that aims to bring carriers who have launched or are about to launch RCS together with those with an interest in launching in the near future. The discussion aims to provide attendees with best practice and lessons learned as well as an opportunity to listen from RCS experts on the best ways to collaborate to make RCS a success. Please click here to register:
There will also be an invitation only roundtable on AI and Conversational Commerce on September 13. This session will cover how brands and carriers can take advantage of articifical intelligence, machine learning and chatbots to transform the way they interact with their customers to promote and sell products and services. This event is invitation only, to apply for a place please submit your details here.
We also invite you to join us in Innovation City where you will meet brands, aggregators and Google and will experience the latest cutting edge demonstrations of live RCS Business Messaging campaigns and their unbelievable results so far. This year, watch demonstrations from over 15 US and global brands and see for yourself how this exciting operator platform is enabling brands to enhance their customer experience and vastly increase click-throughs and conversions.
For further information on all Future Networks activities, download your free MWC Americas Future Networks Event Guide.