SOLVED: The Top 10 Things You Need To Know About RCS/Chat

In the most direct terms, Rich Communications Services (RCS) is a Google developed, global standard for enhanced texting.

We were recently asked “What is RCS Rich Communication Services” so we decided to write up this very quick ‘top 10’ of what everyone should know about it:

1. RCS is designed to compete with What’sApp, WeChat, iMessenger, Telegram and other add on apps that chew up your data plan.  RCS/Chat is not supposed to cost extra or eat into your data plan.
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2. RCS will replace SMS (Simple Message Service – just plain text) and MMS (Multimedia Message Service – pictures) functionality built into your cell phone basic texting program (like MESSAGES on Samsung Android phones)
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3. RCS is tied to a device just like current texting so:
   1. there is no app to download
   2. you cannot sign into a RCS app on more than one device; by definition each device has its own RCS that will automatically be connect to your telco
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4. RCS is what telco’s call it but to make it friendly it is being promoted to consumers as “Chat”
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5. RCS is implemented mostly by the telecom provider (Verizon, Vodaphone, Telus…)  – Here is a list of all the companies that have signed onto the RCS standard
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6. Even though RCS is ready to go on many cells phones like the Samsung S8, S9 and S10, it still does not work for most devices because the Telco’s have not turned it on yet
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7. RCS will allow you to send pictures and other content upto 10MB in size which is dramatically better than the the current .6MB size the MMS allows.  Texted pictures using MMS are very compressed and look just terrible on anything but the smallest screens so we are all looking forward to seeing the end of MMS.
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8. Communication through RCS will be partially encrypted and full end to end encryption will likely be added in the not so distant future
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9. Google developed the standard from the intellectual property it bought with its acquisition of Jibe in 2011
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10. Apple is not supporting RCS because, as usual, they want to restrict their users to their proprietary solution, in this case iMessenger
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    … and a bonus eleventh item
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11. Messages sent from an RCS client to a device or telco that does not (yet) support RCS, will automatically be stripped down and delivered as basic text messages

Watch this short video for a demonstration of how RCS/Chat will work: