Vodacom in talks with Google about SMS replacement service

Vodacom is still in discussions with Google regarding support for Rich Communications Services (RCS) in South Africa, a messaging standard that should eventually succeed SMS.

The RCS open standard was developed and defined by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA).

It aims to create a viable and neutral alternative to third-party proprietary chat apps, with support for more modern features like sharing larger documents, including high-resolution images, videos, and audio.

RCS also supports location sharing, group chats, message reactions, and typing indicators.

Depending on the implementation, RCS can support better security through end-to-end encryption, whereas SMSs can be intercepted and read by third parties.

While RCS debuted in 2007, adoption picked up pace after 2017’s launch of the Universal Profile specification, which included more features and interoperability.

By 2023, RCS had over one billion active users worldwide. By the next year, it had jumped to 2.5 billion active users.

One of the potential big drivers in recent RCS adoption could be Apple finally embracing the technology.

Following years of campaigning by Google — a staunch RCS supporter — Apple added support for RCS in its Messages app in iOS 18 in September 2024.

Although it still presents iPhone users with the controversial green bubbles for messages sent from RCS apps from Android phones, iPhones can interpret messages from Android users if they use RCS-only features.

Previously, if an Android user performed an action or used a feature not supported on SMS — like reacting to a message with a thumbs up — a text message describing the user’s action would be sent to the iPhone.

For mobile subscribers to use RCS, their carrier must either support it directly with its own servers or link up with servers provided by a third party.

The biggest third-party RCS implementer is Google.

Google’s implementation of RCS is widely regarded as superior to that of individual mobile networks, particularly when it comes to interoperability between different phone models and carriers.

Vodacom offered RCS services through its own servers for several years until early March 2023 before migrating customers to Google Jibe infrastructure.

Major networks AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are also migrating their RCS backends to Google Jibe.

However, unlike Vodacom, the US carriers kept supporting RCS through their own servers while migrating their customers to Google’s system.

In August 2024, Vodacom customers noticed they could not send or receive messages using RCS features while using mobile data. RCS worked while on Wi-Fi.

Initially, some suspected this was because of a connectivity problem between Vodacom and Google’s infrastructure.

The mobile network subsequently explained this was because it was hammering out an agreement with Google over the service.

A Vodacom spokesperson recently confirmed to MyBroadband that discussions with Google were still ongoing, no agreement had been finalised, and a timeline had also yet to be determined.

“Vodacom wants to fully support RCS with end-to-end support for its users. Until signed commercial agreements have been concluded, this is not guaranteed,” they said.

The mobile network could not comment on whether costs were the cause of the hold-up.

“Without completed commercial agreements with relevant suppliers, including technical integration and a customer support model, it would be premature to determine this,” the spokesperson said.

SMS far from dead

Although SMS usage has declined due to the rising adoption of Internet-based instant messaging services like WhatsApp, the technology is likely to remain relevant in South Africa in the near future.

Mobile networks MTN and Telkom have told MyBroadband that the standard remained popular among many customers.

Flickswitch managing director and founder Kees Snijder has also explained that that sectors like banking, government, and emergency services are likely to continue using SMS for critical communications.

He explained that SMS’s big benefit was that it did not require Internet access or a smartphone, making it accessible to the entire population, including those in rural or underserved areas.

However, Telkom believes that the shift to RCS is inevitable.

“Once consumers adopt RCS at scale as a preferred messaging service, businesses will also start using it to communicate with their customers,” the company told MyBroadband.