Telenor have announced that they will enable the launch of RCS messaging services to their 211 million subscribers across Europe and Asia. They will join Rogers and Sprint in being amongst the first operators to launch the service which is based on the GSMA’s Universal Profile and offers enhanced messaging experiences and access to features such as group chat, hi-res photo sharing and read receipts.
The service is delivered by the Jibe RCS cloud from Google which enables subscribers to access advanced RCS features as a standard part of their Android device experience. Android device users can upgrade to the service through Google’s Messenger app for Android devices which can be downloaded from the Google Play store. In markets where RCS is launched, Telenor subscribers who already have the Messenger app on their phone will automatically get access to RCS services through an app update. In the future, Telenor will preload Messenger for Android on Android devices as the default SMS and RCS messaging app.
The service is based on the GSMA’s Universal Profile for Advanced Messaging which is currently supported by 60 operators, OEMs and OS providers worldwide. The first release which was issued last year, upgrades existing operator messaging services, providing users with a common, consistent and globally interoperable service that includes many enhanced core messaging features. Consumers will benefit from a richer and more consistent messaging experience regardless of what device or network they are on.
The GSMA will issue a second release of the Universal Profile in Q2 2017. This will upgrade the messaging experience further by adding additional features such as improved messaging expressiveness as well as other improvements such as APIs, plug-in integration and improved authentication and security. It will also introduce ‘conversational commerce’ that will allow users to interact with brands within the platform.
Network 2020 Programme at Mobile World Congress 2017
The GSMA’s Network 2020 Programme will showcase its work on the Universal Profile for Advanced Messaging at this year’s Mobile World Congress that is being held from February 27th to March 2nd 2017 in Barcelona. There will be a number of interactive demonstrations at the Innovation City exhibition space in Hall 4 as well as a comprehensive seminar programme covering 5G and Messaging as a Platform for commerce, chatbots and more. To register for the seminars please go to: http://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/events-and-webinars/mobile-world-congress-2017/