Telecom giants come together to transform messaging

A joint venture between the world’s biggest telecom giants is aiming to revolutionize the messaging experience. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile have come together to encourage widespread adoption of the Rich Communications Service (RCS) industry standard.

The joint venture is named as the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative (CCMI). It will work towards a standards-based, interoperable messaging service. The CCMI will begin its work with Android and changes it makes to enhance the messaging experience are expected to be first seen in 2020.

The new standards-based digital platform created by CCMI promises to give consumers a seamless experience while messaging. People will be able to send high-quality pictures and videos across carriers. Further enhancing the messaging experience will be added features that will enable consumers to chat with businesses, book a car ride, and even pay bills.

“The CCMI will bring a consistent, engaging experience that makes it easy for consumers and businesses to interact in an environment they can trust,” said Michel Combes, President and CEO of Sprint. “As we have seen in Asia, messaging is poised to become the next significant digital platform. CCMI will make it easy for consumers to navigate their lives from a smartphone.”