Jio, along with 24 other global telecom operators are supporting a mobile industry initiative for a universal Rich Communications Services (RCS) profile worldwide, according to GSMA. China Unicom, China Mobile, China Telecom, Singtel, T-Mobile US, Telefonica and Axiata Group, AIS, Beeline, Bell Mobility, Claro Brazil, Claro Colombia, Indosat Ooredoo, M1, Megafon, MTS, Optus, Personal Argentina, Personal Paraguay, Rogers Communications, StarHub, Telcel Mexico, Tele2, Telkomsel, and Telus are the other operators that have joined this initiative.
A number of handset manufacturers Alcatel, ASUS, General Mobile, HTC, Intex Technologies, Lava International, LG Electronics, Lenovo/Motorola, Samsung Electronics and ZTE, as well as mobile OS providers Google and Microsoft have also joined these operators to support the initiative.
GSMA said that these vendors are also committed to bringing universal profile handsets to market. The initiative, which is defining a common, open and universal RCS profile, is now backed by 57 global operators and manufacturers, GSMA said.
"This global initiative aims to provide the mobile industry with a common universal profile that enables mobile operators to deploy an interoperable RCS implementation with a core feature set and configuration. A universal profile will drive the global adoption of RCS services and make it easier for consumers to enjoy rich, consistent and interoperable messaging experiences regardless of device or network,” ," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA.
In addition to the operators announced today, the Universal Profile has already received support from America Movil, Bharti Airtel Ltd., Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Globe Telecom, Google, KPN, Millicom, MTN, Orange, PLAY, Smart Communications, Sprint, Telenor Group, Telia Company, Telstra, TIM, Turkcell, VimpelCom and Vodafone.
RCS is currently offered by 48 operators in 35 countries and is available on 156 devices.
A universal RCS profile will greatly enhance existing operator messaging services by providing users with a consistent user experience, global interoperability and a primary, uniform feature set that includes group chat, photo sharing and pre-call messaging.
Pre-call messaging is a new addition to the RCS experience that recently launched in a number of markets. The profile will also act as a global platform for operators and partners, helping them to launch differentiated value-added services such as payment services, chatbots and conversational commerce. The profile will work on all supported devices and operating systems and across all operator networks, offering consumers access to innovative features.
The universal RCS profile will reduce cost and time-to-market for OEMs by allowing them to deliver a rich messaging experience with a standard set of protocols worldwide as well as use the same client for both operator customers and open market devices.
