Google and Telenor collaborate to introduce Rich Communications Services in Europe and Asia

Google, after collaborating with Sprint and Rogers for the US and Canadian market respectively, joined forces with Telenor to introduce Rich Communications Services (RCS) in Europe and Asia including India.

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Although Short Message Service aka SMS has been all-pervasive in the mobile communication space for a long time, it hasn’t received a massive upgrade over the time. Google’s joint venture with Telenor will, however, allow it (as well as the operators) to provide a “more enhanced messaging experience” to SMS users thereby offering the long overdue upgrade.

For the uninitiated, the RCS is a part of GSMA’s advanced messaging standard. As Google refers, it is an enhanced version of SMS which brings along support for features like “group chat, high-res photo sharing, read receipts and more.” Yes, it is something similar to what Apple does with iMessage. To deliver the said features, Google integrates its own Messenger app for Android with the regular SMS app on smartphones.

Currently, Telenor offers coverage to over 214 million subscribers across multiple countries in Europe and Asia which include Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, and India.

Also Read: Bharti Airtel nears Telenor India acquisition deal, likely next month: Report

Google’s collaboration with Telenor means subscribers in the said regions including India will be able to make use of RCS via an app update. For this, of course, the Messenger app has to be installed on the subscriber’s Android handset. In case, you don’t have the Messenger app installed on your phone by default; you can simply download it from the Google Play Store.