Google RCS 2017 Update : Building on 2016

Got an email from RCS team at Google, following is email content:

Over the holidays I had a chance to reflect back on 2016 and all that’s happened with RCS in the past year. Here are just a few of the highlights:

• In February 2016, Google, the GSMA and leading carriers announced their support for RCS committing to a universal RCS profile and standard messaging experience across devices and networks.
• By the summer, 58 carriers and OEMs had committed to implementing the RCS Universal profile throughout the world. In 2017, we’re expecting to see many more carriers go live with RCS.
• In the fall, Google launched the RCS-ready Messenger app. Google now offers an end-to-end RCS solution comprising the Messenger app for Android, the Jibe Cloud (enabling carriers to launch and manage RCS services with Google-hosted infrastructure), and the Jibe Hub (enabling carriers to connect with other networks with a single connection).
• In the winter, Sprint and Rogers went live with RCS, and announced they would begin preloading the new Messenger app on phones in 2017. We also saw the first RCS interconnect implementation -- between Slovak Telekom and Orange Slovakia -- a key building block for global interoperability.
• Finally, at the end of 2016, the industry agreed on the RCS roadmap for 2017. What’s on that roadmap? In our next email, we’ll provide a sneak peek of what we plan to unveil at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in late February.

2017 is going to be another great year for the industry, and we look forward to working with you.

Amir Sarhangi for The Jibe RCS Team at Google jibe.google.com

Personally I don't see this having any penetration outside the US were the IM market is so mature already, specially since telcos will put a price on this to make money, prob. like MMS price and the few people that would try it, won't.

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 Abbr RSC: Rich Communication Services