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Industry group insists there is end-user demand for operators to offer rival versions of WhatsApp, WeChat.
There is still time for the GSMA’s Rich Communications Services (RCS) to mount an unlikely comeback, if a new report published by the industry group this week is anything to go by.
According to a survey of 4,045 mobile users in China, India, Spain and the U.S. carried out by Context Consulting on behalf of the GSMA, there is still end-user demand for operators to provide their own versions of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and so on.
79% of respondents said that rich, IP-based communication services that support in-call media and file-sharing – on offer from their operator – would be relevant to them.
The report said that respondents are particularly interested in being able to carry out financial transactions from within a messaging app, or being able to indicate the importance and subject matter of a phone call.
"Although Internet-based messaging services are incredibly popular, they are siloed and closed, requiring users to download an app that their contacts might not be on. Mobile operators have an important role to play in offering evolved, secure and reliable messaging services that are interoperable, universal and work directly from any device and on any network," said Alex Sinclair, the GSMA’s chief technology officer, in a statement on Tuesday.
However, according to the GSMA, only 47 operators in 34 countries have launched RCS services to date. By comparison, the vast majority of operators offer a means of downloading and installing an OTT communications app.
The GSMA talks of OTT services being siloed, with closed user groups, but when only a minority of operators deploy RCS, and then an even smaller minority go to the effort of interconnecting their RCS infrastructure with one another, they are left with an even smaller, closed user group.
That hasn’t deterred the GSMA though: its new report claims that operators in developed markets that leverage advanced communication services could add US$5 billion to their revenue between 2015 and 2020.
"Operators must meet this demand for advanced communications services by deploying RCS and VoLTE, which, when connected with other operators, allows users to reach anybody on any network and provides incredible messaging experiences," said Sinclair.
