Having built reliable, high-bandwidth networks, mobile operators are now focusing on business models that will generate revenues from new IP-centric, converged communications services. Mobile operators have encouraged first penetration, and then churn, by offering basic voice, messaging and data services at extremely competitive prices. So telecom operators must now think about their retention and customer relation strategies through new services, a new market approach and new business models that help differentiate them from their competitors, and increase customer value and subscription lifetime.

Operators need to partner with Internet companies and social networks that their customers use and construct business models to both do this and generate income from sources other than network access. Services based on the GSM Association’s Rich Communication Suite (RCS) initiative are seen as a way to maintain a competitive market position, because with RCS  the mobile phone address book remains the central point from which subscribers communicate, and over which additional, converged services can be laid. Interoperability across networks is supported by GPRX today and IPX in the future. However, delays by mobile operators in commercially launching RCS services are creating an opportunity for infrastructure vendors such as Huawei to develop RCS services for non-IMS networks.

Huawei offers a comprehensive Rich Communication Suite (RCS) Solution, a service platform that provides a convergent and open platform as well as innovative value added services that help mobile operators to identify and fulfil customer needs. Huawei’s RCS Solution provides convergent communications, a user friendly experience, convergent personal information storage, and convergent social network services based on mobile subscribers’ real social relationships. It is fully compliant with GSMA’s RCS 2.0 and 3.0 specifications, and will also be compliant with future GSMA RCS specifications, but without mobile operators needing to deploy an IMS network.

This white paper provides an overview of the GSM Association’s RCS initiative as well as Huawei Software’s RCS Solution. It also includes a case study from a mobile operator which has deployed Huawei’s RCS platform.