Tech giant Google has joined the MEF member community to expand opportunities for all members to innovate and engage with the topic of RCS development.
RCS (rich communication services) is a communication protocol standard for instant messaging. Primarily for mobile phones, it was developed and defined by the GSM Association and is expected to become increasingly relevant within the telecommunications sector.
In considering this, Google has announced it is joining the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) to bring its RCS expertise to the community of members. The collaboration aims to expand opportunities for MEF members to engage on RCS-related topics.
MEF MEMBERS INCLUDE THE LIKES OF:
- Amdocs
- BT Group
- China Mobile
- Huawei
- Microsoft Azure
The technology has been touted as part of the future of business communications. Additional knowledge from Google could see MEF members communicate more easily and receive feedback from stakeholders across the wider mobile ecosystem about the role and development of RCS.
Advancing RCS understanding
MEF is already considered to be the ‘go to’ organisation for messaging, with its membership base including a large number of companies within the messaging space. Additionally, MEF has strong relationships with relevant government agencies.
“Google’s membership of MEF aligns with our commitment to expand the community focusing on innovation and excellence in messaging.” – Dario Betti, CEO of MEF.
The organisation provides opportunities for its members to meet and network with each other and develop a range of business relationships. As a result, the MEF member community can more easily explore opportunities to refine go-to-market plans, develop use cases and support public consultations with regulators on industry-serving topics.
MEF membership is also able to offer strategic insights, market and new sector facilitation and knowledge transfer, in addition to events that showcase innovation and offer education opportunities for members.
Likewise, its ability to facilitate business partnering across the mobile ecosystem enables members to access both regional and international markets. With this in mind, the MEF is eager to help shape the industry through collaboration and advocacy through its own communication channels and speaking opportunities.
By joining the MEF, Google will be bringing its expertise to the wider community of members. This relationship builds on existing collaboration with MEF members having attended RCS World 2022 in Dublin at Google Foundry, RCS World 2023 in Google’s HQ in Paris and RCS World 2024, most recently, in Sao Paolo.
“Messaging is now so much more advanced and MEF has been driving innovation and best practice in messaging since the start,” says Dario Betti, CEO of MEF. “2024 sees RCS really coming into its own, allowing brands a more secure and dynamic way of engaging with their customers.
“Google’s membership of MEF aligns with our commitment to expand the community focusing on innovation and excellence in messaging. We are delighted to welcome Google to the MEF family.”
Google’s wider role in the telco space
Alongside its digital transformation ventures, Google has established itself as a powerful figure within the mobile industry. Most notably, the giant is responsible for the Android operating system that powers roughly 70% of smartphones around the world.
Beyond software, the Google Play Store acts as a key app marketplace for Android devices and generates significant revenue via in-app purchases. Likewise, its mobile applications like Gmail, Maps and Chrome have become a default for millions of users worldwide.
Through partnerships with manufacturers like Samsung and LG, Google ensures its services remain central to the mobile experience. Furthermore, Google Cloud is partnering with communication services providers (CSPs) around the world to deliver the AI-driven telecom.
The organisation harnesses intelligent data to advance cloud-native networks and unlock new monetisation opportunities.
“We are proud of our growing ecosystem that helps drive telco innovations forward,” the company says, via its Google Cloud for Telecommunications webpage.
