Telcos in talks to roll out ‘SMS on steroids’

Australian telcos are in talks to implement RCS, a technology dubbed “SMS on steroids” that could slash the rate of spam messages and bring Australia up to speed with other markets like the US and Singapore.

What is RCS messaging?

Often described as the next generation of SMS or “SMS 2.0”, Rich Communication Services (RCS) has rapidly gained traction globally among device manufacturers and users, with enhanced features that rival the likes of WhatsApp and iMessage.

Instead of needing a third-party app, RCS is the standard messaging built into smartphones. Apple last month added RCS support to its latest iPhone software update, iOS 18, meaning that both Android and iPhone users now get typing indicators, read receipts, high-resolution media and, crucially, better security.

RCS will be “SMS on steroids” for iPhones, adding features similar to iMessage.

That’s not the case in Australia, however, given telcos including Telstra, Optus, and TPG are yet to roll out the standard to iPhones.

Why hasn’t RCS messaging been rolled out in Australia?

One man working to change that is Robert Gerstmann, the co-founder of Sinch, a $38 billion Swedish communications tech outfit that acquired Australian rival MessageMedia in 2021 for $1.7 billion.

Sinch co-founder Robert Gerstmann.

Gerstmann is visiting Australia to meet local telcos and encourage them to set aside funding in their budgets to sign deals with Google, which provides the RCS service.

“I am very excited about this. SMS has been the standard for 20 years, with lots of good things but also some quite negative downsides, especially around fraud,” he said in an interview. “I’ve been meeting with the local telcos to talk about the upsides of RCS; this will be much safer for consumers.”

SMS is virtually a case of “plug and play” for fraudsters, Gerstmann said, given that no checks are required to verify that they are who they’re claiming to be. Scammers can currently claim to be anyone from toll companies to banks, and Australians lost about $26.9 million in 2023 to SMS scams.

“The difference with RCS is that every brand needs to go through a vetting process that’s done by the mobile operator, so the likelihood of a fraudster being able to impersonate your bank or your logistics company is much lower,” Gerstmann said.

“Consumers will be more willing to accept and trust messages from brands, and the total fraud numbers will decrease. Spam messages have been a real problem for the industry globally, and it’s something that RCS can and will address.”

When will RCS be available in Australia?

Gerstmann said Australia’s major telcos were still in confidential negotiations with Google about commercial terms ahead of a likely 2025 launch date.

A TPG spokesman said, “We are currently reviewing the implementation of RCS on iOS18 and are building it into our product roadmap. We will keep our customers updated”.

A Telstra spokesman said RCS “remains on our radar as we continue to work with our device partners to explore and enable technologies that will improve the experience for customers on Telstra’s network.”

An Optus spokesman said the telco had nothing to share at this time.

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