Interop (News - Alert) Technologies — a provider of core wireless solutions for advanced messaging, mobile device provisioning and management, and connectivity gateways — announced Tuesday that it has made its Rich Communication Suite (News - Alert) (RCS) Messaging Server backward compatible with Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS). In other words, mobile devices enabled with Interop’s RCS server can send text, video and picture messages to other devices, whether or not those devices use RCS.

This patent-pending solution, which bridges the gap between legacy and next generation messaging, is the first to offer SMS and MMS backward compatibility in the industry. A press release stresses that Interop’s RCS Messaging Server provides fully compliant RCS, not “RCS-like,” messaging features, including individual and group chat, file transfer, and indicators identifying when messages are composed, sent, and delivered.

Furthermore, Interop’s server enables operators to offer RCS without the need for an expensive and complex IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert) (IMS) core, allowing operators to compete with “over-the-top” (OTT) services without additional charges to their current network. The company’s hosted deployment option also minimizes costs and helps operators get RCS services quickly to market.

According to executive vice president and chief technology officer at Interop Technologies, Steve Zitnik, “[Interop’s] patent-pending, hosted solution, which works with any RCS client, provides the fastest, most cost-effective means of offering RCS, while completely supporting existing SMS and MMS technology. As a result, operators can combat the threat of over-the-top players immediately, while providing subscribers with new, in-demand features.”

A number of major handset manufacturers have already committed to building RCS directly into their handsets starting in the second quarter of this year while downloadable RCS clients are available for existing devices.

Interop Technologies also announced earlier this week that wireless communications company, Cellcom (News - Alert) has selected Interop’s hosted Commercial Mobile Service Provider (CMSP) Gateway (News - Alert) to comply with the government's new Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) initiative, reducing the cost and complexity of sending government-issued alerts to mobile subscribers.