Airtel partners with Google to launch RCS messaging in India
What's the story
Bharti Airtel has announced a partnership with tech giant Google to offer Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging. The move comes after Airtel's previous concerns over spam and aims at intensifying competition against platforms like WhatsApp in the business messaging space. As part of the deal, Airtel will charge ₹0.11 per message under an 80:20 revenue share agreement with Google.
Spam prevention
Airtel's commitment to spam control
Airtel has been cautious about RCS messaging, fearing it could be a new vector for spam. The company has been working with Google on stringent guidelines for RCS messages, ensuring they pass through its AI-based spam filter. An Airtel spokesperson said, "Only once this is implemented, we would be pleased to be on board RCS with Google."
Messaging evolution
RCS: A global messaging standard
RCS is a global messaging standard developed by the GSMA in 2007 to replace SMS. It offers advanced features such as read receipts, file sharing, group chats, location sharing, and encryption. The idea was to create a universal carrier-based messaging standard that could take on internet-based apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and WeChat. However, its adoption was slow due to lack of uniform implementation across carriers.
Adoption boost
Google's role in RCS adoption
In 2019, Google started enabling RCS directly through its own 'Google Messages' app, starting in the UK and France. Today, Google Messages is driving RCS adoption with one billion messages sent daily. The India CPaaS (communication-platform-as-a-service) market is estimated to grow from $1.01 billion in 2025 to $3.06 billion by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence data.
Market dominance
RCS to dominate India's commercial messaging market
Both OTT channels - WhatsApp and RCS - are expected to dominate India's commercial messaging market, according to Gartner. A joint report by Omdia and Infobip projected RCS alone will generate $544 million in revenue by 2029 from 21 billion messages sent from India. This would account for 25% of the total RCS revenues in Asia and Oceania during that period.