Mavenir is beefing up its Rich Communications Services (RCS) game, announcing that it completed RCS interconnection with the networks of Telefónica, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom Germany.
It represents one of the largest RCS carrier interconnections achieved to date, with an estimated addressable market of more than 158 million RCS-upgradeable mobile subscribers in 13 countries, according to Mavenir. That includes three Telefónica markets, 13 Vodafone markets and Deutsche Telekom Germany, as well as other carriers.
“This milestone paves the way for accelerated and simplified future MNO onboarding and participation,” said Guillaume Le Mener, SVP Business Mobility at Mavenir, in a statement.
Texas-based Mavenir says its Mobile Business Messaging Cloud is one of the largest RCS cloud services in the market with interconnection. The cloud solution includes the RCS and IMS cores, as well as the session border controllers (SBC) and requisite firewalls.
Its RCS solution supports enhanced mobile messaging features such as open group chat, delivery, read notifications, image and file transfer and audio/video messages for peer-to-peer communications.
Mavenir announced in April that it had deployed its next-generation voice and messaging solution as part of Rakuten Mobile’s communication app, Rakuten Link. The app allows users to make domestic and international calls to other mobile phones and fixed lines, sending and receiving SMS messages in Japan and overseas, in addition to supporting basic communication features such as group chat and photo/video/file transfer.
RCS started as the GSMA project joyn more than a decade ago in response to OTT players taking over the messaging space. Google has been a big proponent of the technology; it bought RCS pioneer Jibe Mobile back in 2015.
Last year, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile agreed to create a joint venture, the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative (CCMI), to deliver a messaging service based on RCS.
CCMI has said its service will enable users to privately send individual or group chats across carriers with high quality pictures and videos and provide consumers with the ability to do things like chat with brands, pay bills, schedule appointments and more.
Synchronoss Technologies won the contract to provide the platform for that joint venture; the goal is to launch the RCS-based advanced messaging service later this year.
Source: https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/mavenir-boasts-rcs-interconnection-telefonica-vodafone-dt