TECH

Rich Communication Services (RCS) takes center stage in the enterprise

Infobip, the global cloud communications platform, has released its latest messaging trends report, which shows that the adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS) has skyrocketed, transforming the customer experience landscape.

In 2024, Infobip analyzed over 530 billion interactions on its platform between businesses and consumers to identify the latest global trends in business messaging. The data shows that Apple’s support for RCS, following the iOS 18 update in late 2024, resulted in a five-fold increase in global RCS traffic, with North America alone seeing a 14-fold increase.

Businesses across the world have embraced this channel, offering highly engaging two-way interactions with their customers. Infobip data shows a 500% increase in RCS usage year-over-year, with brands using it alongside SMS to ensure a seamless customer journey.

Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer at Infobip, says: “RCS is taking off because it works. The branded experience and verification reduce hesitation, while rich visuals capture attention and increase motivation. In A/B testing, RCS’s rich cards generated conversion rates that could exceed MMS by 70%. More importantly, RCS generated conversion rates that were two to three times higher, and sometimes even ten times higher, than standard marketing channels,” said Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer at Infobip.

As brands refine their strategies for engaging with customers, WhatsApp has become a key channel for conversational marketing, with growth outpacing that of SMS and email. Infobip has seen a 41% increase in the number of brands using WhatsApp for marketing, thanks to new features that enable seamless purchases in a single chat. The platform has also seen significant growth over other chat apps such as Telegram, Line and Viber.

Overall, Infobip has seen a 30% increase in the number of brands orchestrating conversational marketing interactions with their customers on its platform.

AI adoption has also increased, according to data from Infobip’s AI Hub. Chatbots and AI-powered automation are widely adopted, especially in the financial and insurance sectors, where security and compliance are paramount. Companies are increasingly using AI to facilitate personalized interactions, fraud prevention and real-time customer support.

MWC 2025...One way to overcome some companies’ resistance to the cost of private cellular network (PCN) projects may be to adopt a sales-as-a-service business model. This path has been adopted for the past six months by the US-based Boldyn Networks, which specializes in building PCN and DAS projects. Its CEO, Mikko Uusitalo, participated in a panel on the topic at MWC25 (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona on Wednesday, 5.

“It’s complex to install a private cellular network. We take that complexity out of selling as a service. We operate the RCP with the SLA that the client wants. And the Capex that the client would spend can be invested in use cases”, described the executive. In the ‘as a service’ model, contracts must be for at least three years, he highlighted. The longer the period, the lower the monthly price. Boldyn has already implemented 110 RCPs over the last six years, but did not say how many were sold under the ‘as a service’ model.

Rui Yang, an executive at ZTE who specializes in RCPs, agreed that selling as a service enables new projects and gives the client flexibility to select which features and what level of quality (capacity, latency, etc.) they want in the network. One of the great advantages of this model is that it also takes away from the client the operational work, which requires specialized telecommunications engineers.

Private cellular network: communication challenge...Boldyn’s CEO understands that the availability of spectrum for private networks is no longer a problem in many markets – although its standardization worldwide still is. In her opinion, the biggest challenge now is explaining to customers the differences between them and other technologies, such as Wi-Fi. “They are different technologies, with different benefits,” she said.

Vodafone’s head of corporate portfolio, Jennifer Didoni, agreed: “Like any new technology, there was a lot of hype around 5G, but now it’s clearer what problems it solves. It’s irresponsible to say that 5G solves everything. We have to be responsible in pointing out where it is useful and where it isn’t,” she argued. Didoni explained that cellular technology is recommended for coverage projects in large open or closed spaces.

mundophone