Google, OpenMarket Partner On RCS Messaging

OpenMarket, the mobile messaging company, announced Monday (Feb. 27) that it is teaming up with Google to help businesses realize the full capabilities of RCS messaging, the mobile messaging technology.

OpenMarket said select businesses will have the opportunity to learn and build with RCS messaging. What’s more, these select few can be the first to offer their Android customers a new mobile messaging experience. Building off of SMS’s widespread adoption in the enterprise and continued popularity among consumers, RCS is the natural next step in the evolution of SMS, according to OpenMarket. Some of the features of RCS messaging include high-resolution photos, group chat capabilities and read receipts, the company said.

OpenMarket isn’t the only company in recent weeks to make similar announcements. Earlier this month, Telenor, the Norwegian telecom company, partnered with Google to offer its customers RCS. Google said Telenor will offer the messaging app to its 214 million subscribers across Asia and Europe, including in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and India. Subscribers will have access to advanced messaging features as a standard part of their Android device.

In markets where RCS is launched, Telenor subscribers who already have the Messenger app on their phone will automatically get access to RCS services through an app update. Subscribers who don’t have the app can install it from the Google Play Store, Google said in a post. As part of the partnership with Telenor, new Android devices will come with Messenger for Android preloaded as the default SMS and RCS messaging app.