The RCS ecosystem: How RCS messages are sent and delivered

For years, Rich Communication Services (RCS) has been seen as the future of business messaging. Why? Because it lets businesses send rich, branded, interactive messages directly to a customer’s native mobile inbox – something traditional SMS just can’t do. Until recently, RCS was only available on Android devices, limiting its reach. But now, with Apple rolling out RCS support on iOS, that future is officially here. 

But how does an RCS message actually get from a business to a customer, and who’s involved in the process? These are questions we get a lot from enterprises looking to get started with RCS. While the process is a bit more complex than SMS, it’s surprisingly straightforward when you break it down.  

In this article, we’ll break down the different organizations involved in the RCS ecosystem and walk you through exactly how messages move from brands to customers. Let’s dive in!

RCS has been in the making for over 17 years. It started with a few mobile operators and the GSM Association (GSMA), who introduced it as a set of messaging tools that could be implemented in various ways. But early on, it struggled to gain momentum. That all changed when Google acquired Jibe Mobile in 2015 and began driving RCS adoption as the core messaging technology for Android devices. 

In 2023, Apple announced it would support RCS on iOS 18. Today, RCS has over one billion active users across many carriers globally. These numbers continue to grow rapidly as more carriers enable their networks and more consumers upgrade to RCS-enabled devices.  

So, if RCS development is supported by Google, why does operator support matter? While RCS can be used on Android via Google Messages for peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging without carrier support, for RCS and RCS for Business to work on iOS, additional stakeholders are involved in the process. 

RCS availability for both Apple and Android users still depends on things like network support and device compatibility. Unlike SMS messaging, which works universally, RCS requires more up-to-date devices and operating systems as well. 

The process to send an RCS message is different from SMS, which relies entirely on mobile operators to deliver messages, because Google is involved in most cases. It’s also different from over-the-top (OTT) messaging services like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, which involve Meta and bypass operator networks.

To get an RCS message from a business to a customer, a lot of collaboration is required across different players. Let’s break down who’s involved and what role each party plays in making this happen.

Mobile operators (also known as MNOs) are a key part of the RCS for Business ecosystem because they sign agreements with Google to activate RCS on their networks. Once that’s done, they take on responsibilities like billing. They also play a role in the Sender Verification process, which helps ensure that businesses sending RCS are legitimate and trustworthy.

Now that Apple has started to roll out RCS support, mobile carriers are also playing a role in Apple integration testing to ensure a good user experience between operating systems. 

Google provides the global RCS infrastructure that supports both personal and business messaging. 

Google also has been instrumental in helping to develop the Universal Profile, a standard that lets mobile operators offer users RCS features like group chats, typing indicators, high-resolution photos, and read receipts universally. As the company behind Android, Google has had a long stake in shaping smartphone messaging and also manages end-to-end encryption for RCS chats sent via the Google Messages app. 

Before mobile operators got involved, Google handled approvals, verifications, and rollouts. Now, Google works with the carriers to enable and support RCS on their networks.

Apple’s role in the RCS ecosystem is straightforward but important. While Apple doesn’t handle network enablement or business messaging approvals, it does ensure that iPhones can send and receive RCS messages. Note that RCS operates separately from Apple’s proprietary iMessage service. 

Currently, RCS support for iPhones/iOS is rolling out gradually and is only available in select markets and with certain carriers. 

Then there are the software providers like Communications Platform as a Service providers (CPaaS providers) who make it possible for businesses to send and manage large-scale RCS messaging campaigns. Their job goes beyond providing an interface but goes into supplying the tools and infrastructure that businesses need to handle messaging at any scale, and across various use cases. 

This includes AI-powered bots that automate real-time tasks and ensure efficiency, and integration with different contact center solutions, so that the bots can hand off to human agents when needed. On top of that, omnichannel APIs allow businesses to connect to multiple messaging channels and CRMs based on their specific market needs, so they can manage RCS, SMS, and even OTT messaging apps from the same platform.   

Companies like Sinch help businesses and enterprises transition to or get started with RCS by providing technology and support to send and manage messages at scale, no matter if it’s for marketing, customer service, notifications, or authentication use cases.

Enterprises are the ones in this mix actually crafting the RCS messages. First, this usually involves rethinking how they currently engage with their customers. Because many businesses are still using plain text messaging, now they can transition to RCS and begin the move to more engaging, dynamic messages with features like: 

• Branded, verified sender IDs: These include visual cues like a brand name and logo directly in the messaging UI. 

• Multimedia elements like images, videos, GIFs, and stickers: These allow brands to show multiple products, promotions, or options in a carousel as a single message to make interactions more engaging. 

• Read and delivery receipts: Handset delivery receipts, open rates, and read rates are available so businesses can measure the effectiveness of their messages. 

• Integration with AI-powered chatbots: This advanced functionality can help automate customer interactions with conversational AI technologies that provide instant support and personalized responses. 

To start using RCS, businesses need to set up an RCS Agent, which involves submitting the necessary details to verify their brand identity before they can send messages and ensure delivery. 

Watch the video below to see how quickly you can get an RCS Agent up and running with Sinch!

_{Learn how to get an RCS Agent using Conversation API up and running in just a few simple steps.} 

If you’ve ever sent a business SMS, an RCS message’s journey from a business to a consumer is probably more familiar than you might think. But unlike SMS, which operates independently of Google, RCS is facilitated by Google’s technology. This requires a few more steps in the process. 

At its core, sending an RCS message follows a structured path, involving multiple players working together to ensure messages reach the end recipient. Here’s how it works:  

1. Business initiates the message: A business sends an RCS for Business message via a company like Sinch. This could be a marketing campaign, a customer support conversation, a transactional alert, or an authentication (OTP) message. 

2. Service provider routes the message: In most cases, Sinch sends the message to Google’s RCS infrastructure. Occasionally, Sinch will route to a carrier directly.  

3. Google checks for compliance: Google and/or the RCS Service Provider can ensure the message complies with its Terms of Service, checking for things like malware and spam.  

4. Message is delivered: The message reaches the end user’s Android or Apple device.  

The message is encrypted in transit between the business and Google’s infrastructure, and again encrypted between Google’s platform and the end user. 

Want a visual breakdown? Here’s an overview.

We should note here that RCS messages also rely on mobile network data or Wi-Fi to be sent, so without a connection, the above won’t happen and businesses can choose to send them as an SMS message instead.

We’ve touched on a few requirements for an RCS message to actually get delivered to an end customer, but let’s break it down to the user level. There are a few key factors that affect whether a verified business message is delivered to an end user: 

• Carrier enablement: If the user has an iPhone, their carrier must support RCS. If the carrier doesn’t have an agreement in place, only messages to Android have the possibility to be delivered as RCS. 

• Device compatibility: RCS works on Android and iPhone devices with supporting operating systems. Feature phones and other older devices can’t receive RCS messages.  

• Market availability for RCS on iOS: Some countries may have all its operators supporting RCS, while others still rely primarily on SMS or other messaging channels.   

• User settings: The recipient must have RCS chat features enabled on their messaging app. They also need to either be connected to Wi-Fi or have mobile data. If RCS is turned off or there’s no internet connection, messages may default to SMS or MMS. 

Because of these variables, it’s a good idea for businesses to keep fallback options like SMS in place to ensure critical messages are still delivered when RCS isn’t available. 

RCS is still evolving, but its impact on business messaging is already clear as brands start using it to create richer, more engaging customer experiences. For customer-centric businesses, it’s not a question of “if” but “when” to adopt RCS. 

That said, no new technology comes without challenges. Widespread adoption depends on several key factors:  

• Apple’s expansion: As Apple brings RCS to iPhones in additional markets, businesses will gain broader reach, but the timeline on this remains uncertain. 

• Carrier rollout: How quickly mobile operators can start working with Google to enable RCS will determine how quickly it reaches full scale.  

• OS updates: Even in Android-heavy markets, adoption can be slow if users delay updating their operating systems and devices. 

The good news? Businesses can ease into using RCS at their own pace. The “walk, run, fly” approach, where businesses tackle a project in stages rather than all at once, makes it easy to adopt RCS in stages. Companies can begin with Basic RCS messages, which can include text, verified sender profiles, and URL previews before scaling up to more sophisticated conversational ones.

RCS has come a long way, from a niche technology to becoming an interactive messaging channel available on both Android and iOS. With mobile operators, Google, Apple, and providers like Sinch all playing a role in its expansion, the ecosystem is growing fast, creating new opportunities for businesses to engage their customers in rich, dynamic ways.

For brands that rely on messaging for marketing, alerts and notifications, verification, or customer service, RCS is a major upgrade – especially when it comes to messaging that actually builds connections with customers.

Now’s the time to explore how RCS can fit into your messaging strategy. Ready to take the next step? Reach out to our team.