RCS Has Not Worked Out the Way Some Hoped

Rich Communications Services was intended to be the multimedia successor to SMS (short message service). It still seems likely to do so, though the way it may do so illustrates some key changes in communications value and control, ultimately reflected in business models. 

The GSMA has promoted the use of RCS since 2008, primarily as a way of making carrier text messaging behave as do chat apps. But application-based messaging such as iMessage, WeChat, Slack, Skype, Viber, Android Messages, also are built on SMS. 

So RCS was envisioned as a “telco” messaging platform to rival app messaging. As with a few other salient telco initiatives, it has not quite worked out that way. 

In the U.S. market, AT&T and T-Mobile have opted to use the Google Messages platform, based on RCS. So instead of a “telco alternative” to app messaging services, RCS--as developed by Google Messages--becomes the AT&T and T-Mobile default for advanced messaging, not a carrier version. 

Telcos once hoped to become significant platforms for mobile app stores, data center hosting services and cloud computing as well. Many have moved into roles as video entertainment providers or content owners. They still hope to create roles in edge computing and internet of things value chains. 

History suggests it will be an uphill battle. Already, many major tier-one telcos are opting to become partners with hyperscale computing-as-a-service suppliers, rather than compete. Some telcos already are outsourcing their compute facilities to hyperscalers. 

AT&T will move its 5G core network to the Microsoft cloud. The switch means Microsoft’s Azure Cloud provides a path for all of AT&T’s mobile network traffic to be managed using Microsoft Azure technologies. 

As part of the deal, Microsoft will gain access to AT&T’s intellectual property and technical expertise to grow its telecom flagship offering, Azure for Operators.

Microsoft also is acquiring AT&T’s carrier-grade Network Cloud platform technology, which AT&T’s 5G core network runs on. AT&T’s Network Cloud platform has been running AT&T’s 5G core at scale since the company launched 5G in 2018. 

The point is that for all the wisdom of telcos “moving up the stack” and “adding more value,” that has proven exceptionally difficult. RCS provides yet another example.