Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) has partnered with Dotgo to deliver rich communication services (RCS) to enterprises. Under the partnership, Dotgo will be providing Vi with its Messaging as a Platform (MaaP) solution to manage services for Vi Business. This will help Vi Business in monetising messaging services nationwide. RCS allows users of Android phones to interact with each other using the native messaging app of their devices. It allows them to get, for example, a WhatsApp-like experience in a two-way chat, as they can share emojis, location, and more with each other.
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What Vi provides to enterprises is called Rich Business Services (RBS). For Vi, it is powered by Google and Dotgo's MaaP solution. In a release, Dotgo said that it remains at the forefront of RCS innovation. Dotgo is continuously refining its product offerings to cater to diverse industry verticals, including retail, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and HR.
However, due to the presence of OTT (over-the-top) platforms, operators are bound to lose $2.5 billion in business messaging revenues. Platforms such as WhatsApp, Wechat and Messenger will contribute to this loss. That is why, Indian telecom operators, have also asked the Indian telecom regulator to ask OTT messaging platforms to share a part of their revenues with the network service providers. This is because OTT messaging happens on top of the networks that telcos have invested in and built over the years.
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The telecom operators have said that as the network traffic is increasing because of the OTT platforms, they should contribute a part of their revenues which can be used to improve networks.
However the tech industry players find this request absurd and suggested that if that were to happen, it would directly impact the net neutrality rules.
