RCS on iOS: strategies for operators

Apple is adopting Rich Communication Services (RCS) into its iOS ecosystem, but the take-up of RCS on all operating systems will be limited by the lack of complete operator support and competition from third-party apps. Operators must drive consumer awareness of RCS and should apply a strategy that is tailored to their market type.

This report provides:

• an outline of the challenges that operators face with the deployment of RCS on iOS, including how Apple’s decisions will affect the RCS market
• details of the strategies for operators in:
  • markets where all operators offer RCS and the market opportunity is strong
  • markets where RCS-hesitant operators prevent country-wide availability
  • markets where one third-party communications app is near-ubiquitous, and therefore RCS will struggle to gain much traction.