India is set to become the most significant market for Application-to-Person (A2P) Rich Communication Services (RCS) in Asia & Oceania, global cloud communications platform Infobip has revealed in a report titled RCS: Igniting business messaging with rich conversations. Undertaken by tech analyst Omdia, RCS traffic will quadruple over the next five years globally. The RCS Application to Person (A2P) and Person to Person (P2P) traffic will increase from 1.5 trillion messages this year to more than 6 trillion messages in 2029. As a result, A2P RCS will generate revenues of $4.2 billion by 2029.   RCS is the next iteration of SMS, enabling consumers and businesses to send and receive rich messages via a data connection or Wi-Fi using the standard SMS inbox. Following Apple’s adoption of the telco messaging service in its latest iOS 18 update, Omdia expects RCS to have a cross-platform reach of an estimated 2.5 billion monthly active users by end-2024.   The research shows that the Americas and Asia & Oceania will be the primary drivers of A2P RCS traffic and revenue over the coming years:

Source: Omdia In Asia & Oceania, India's large Android user base, which stands at a staggering 90% in 2024, makes it the region’s focal point for future growth in messaging services. As per the findings, of the $2.2 billion in revenue and the 64 billion messages generated by A2P RCS in Asia and Oceania in 2029, $544m (25%) and 21 billion messages (33%), respectively, will come from India alone. By 2029, India will have an installed base of 254 million A2P RCS users. Talking about the region leading the global RCS growth, Harsha Solanki, VP GM Asia, Infobip, highlighted, “The Asia and Oceania region presents a unique opportunity for businesses to leverage A2P RCS, offering richer, more interactive messaging experiences. With its extensive Android penetration, India stands out as a key market in the region driving A2P RCS adoption, particularly in sectors like retail, banking, and e-commerce, where personalized, timely communication is crucial for success. Also, the on-going digital transformation in India is pivotal to this growth, supported by government initiatives like the ‘Digital India’ program, which aims to enhance digital service delivery and foster innovative, customer-centric communication strategies that will define the future of mobile engagement across Asia.” Charlotte Palfrey, Senior Analyst, Advanced Messaging and Communications at Omdia, said, “RCS offers significant benefits for enterprises and telcos. Enterprises should leverage Gen AI to enhance RCS experiences, making campaigns more personalized, engaging and effective in driving conversion. At the same time, telcos must work with the messaging ecosystem to raise RCS awareness among enterprises and consumers. Additionally, telcos should utilize RCS internally for marketing and customer care functions to demonstrate RCS’s capabilities and benefits.”   Infobip enables enterprises and telcos to benefit from RCS Business Messaging through its Messaging-as-a-Platform (MaaP) service. Infobip’s MaaP solution provides messaging benefits, including throughput control, content and spam control, while Infobip’s CPaaS offering enables connectivity with other Mobile Network Operators. Benefits include detailed billing and reporting, faster brand and partner approval, additional user control, and managed service options.   Learn more about the research here: https://www.infobip.com/downloads/rcs-igniting-business-messaging