Rich communication services (RCS) offer subscribers features that enhance the capabilities of SMS and MMS technologies. This includes conducting individual and group chat sessions, exchanging images or videos during voice calls or chats, video/image share, and file transfer. With these options operators can provide similar features to “over-the-top” (OTT) services like Skype and Facebook (News - Alert) Messenger so they can eliminate or minimize customer attrition.
A new patent issued to Interop Technologies, a provider of core wireless solutions for advanced messaging, over-the-air handset management, policy control, and connectivity gateways, grants the company intellectual property rights pertaining to RCS without IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert) (IMS) and RCS interworking with legacy network.
The issuance of U.S. Patent No. 8,856,356, covers the deployment of its RCS without any reliance on underlying IMS architecture. This will allow the company to deliver easy rich communications solutions to its mobile operator customers. Eliminating the need for IMS core lowers the cost of entry and introduces faster time to market for new solutions by deploying next-generation all-IP communication services.
The patent covers an RCS-compliant infrastructure that incorporates the signaling, authorization, and session setup necessary to support RCS directly into the RCS platform. Operators will be able to deliver full RCS experience immediately as a substitute for an IMS network or while they wait for the deployment of an IMS network.
The Interop (News - Alert) patented RCS solution provides:
- Compliance with RCS specifications, without requiring an IMS network
- Provides interworking with legacy SMS and MMS
- Supports cloud, private cloud, and turnkey deployment options
- Provides in-demand features to maintain operator relevance and subscriber loyalty
- Advances in step with client and feature specifications as the RCS ecosystem evolves
Subscribers of the operators can also expect better quality of service for a variety of options including: IP-based video and voice calls; one-to-one and group messaging; real-time exchange of image or video files; converged inbox for SMS, MMS, and RCS messages; multi-device support; and store and forward for chat messages and file transfers.
“Very early on, we identified prerequisite IMS as both a financial and technical hurdle many operators would face when deploying RCS. At the same time, we understood the need for a standards-based RCS solution that supports interworking with existing services, such as SMS and MMS. We designed a solution that is standards-based, deployable with or without IMS, and which seamlessly integrates with SMS and MMS," said Interop CTO Steve Zitnik.
Edited by Alisen Downey