Business messaging emerging as new battleground for telcos

The enterprise messaging segment may emerge as the new battleground for a telecom tariff war with the increase in transition from traditional text messaging to Rich Communication Services (RCS) for better engagement with consumers.

- JATIN GROVER

THE ENTERPRISE MESSAGING segment may emerge as the new battleground for a telecom tariff war with the increase in transition from traditional text messaging to Rich Communication Services (RCS) for better engagement with consumers.

Google-promoted RCS is an upgraded version of SMS that engages users with branded, verified messages. It competes with the WhatsApp business messaging services. Currently, Vodafone Idea and Jio have enabled RCS Business Messaging (RBM), allowing enterprises to send rich, interactive messages with branding, verified sender IDs and chatbot-like interactions through their networks.

Bharti Airtel is yet to launch RBM. But once it does, a tariff war is expected as operators will compete to increase their market share in the segment, industry executives told FE.