A study from Juniper Research has found global operator revenue from RCS (Rich Communication Services) business messaging traffic will grow from US$1.3 billion in 2023, to $8 billion in 2025. This substantial growth will be largely driven by Apple’s announced support of RCS technology in late 2024.
The tech giant’s entrance into the market, with support over iOS devices, will grow the number of active users by 900 million over the next two years; reaching 2.1 billion active users globally, opines the research group. Juniper Research predicts this will increase the value proposition of RBM (RCS Business Messaging) amongst enterprises. In turn, this will encourage more operators to roll out the technology over their networks, attracted by the significant growth in RBM termination revenue.
Additionally, the research anticipated RCS will become a key technology for operators in the business messaging ecosystem, given the high levels of fraud affecting the SMS business messaging sector. It predicted that the launch of RCS will enable operators to retain business messaging traffic over telecoms networks, as SMS adoption slows, and OTT business messaging channels continue to experience significant growth.
“For the first time, the value of SMS is being questioned by enterprises. Operators must act quickly if SMS fraud and high prices cannot be resolved,” research author Molly Gatford says. “Apple’s introduction raises the profile of RCS, a technology that has historically been hindered by a lack of support, and can become a substitute for SMS business messaging traffic.”
