RCS: The Next Step in Mobile Services Evolution

In 2005, IMS was heralded with great fanfare and expectations as network equipment vendors began to launch products and service providers began making initial vendor selections. Holding the promise of a truly integrated network core for a variety of access technologies in which to deliver converged services, the reality is most IMS deployments have been for fixed-line VoIP services.

In 2009, efforts are underway that will change the IMS service landscape. The shift from fixed-line VoIP based IMS deployments to integrated multimedia mobile services will begin to happen with the deployment of Rich Communication Suite (RCS) services beginning in late 2009 and into 2010.

The development of RCS is crucial for realizing the true value of IMS, as it represents the evolution of integrated multimedia services in mobile and fixed-line networks. The goal is to speed the adoption of applications and services that are fully interoperable between network operators and devices and provide an enhanced user experience.

The market for mobile services is highly fragmented with very different implementations of services from operator to operator. Today a mobile user has very separate and distinct experiences with each of the communication services available (i.e., voice, IM, SMS, e-mail). None of the mobile services are integrated, providing a disconnected communications experience. At its core, RCS aims to provide a more integrated communication experience through an enhanced network address book that links contacts with presence status across services.

Consider that the backbone of RCS is the enhanced address book with presence and the inherent ties to social and business networking. With this the youth market is absolutely essential for RCS and will be the initial target market according to conversations we have had with operators. The reasons for targeting this segment are two-fold: First, this group finds value in the social network and users will drive others in their social network to the same service capabilities; and second, bringing a social network to the service will actively engage users with one another, driving enhanced messaging, image sharing and data usage.

Operators fully recognize the need to have RCS fully interoperable across networks in order for users to effectively utilize RCS capabilities across their entire base of contacts.

So where can we expect to find RCS? Most of the near-term activity is in Western Europe, particularly in France, Italy, Spain, and the Nordic region where commercial services will begin to come on-line in 2010. In these countries there is a broad base of support. Outside of Europe, we do not anticipate significant RCS deployments until the 2011 timeframe. Looking out, we expect Japan to be the next market with serious RCS deployments. The main Japanese operators, lead by DoCoMo, are strong supporters of RCS and are collaborating on having a consistent service that will interoperate across the networks. This cross-operator support is absolutely critical.