STOCKHOLM – Proponents of the mobile services portion of the Rich Communication Suite Initiative hope it will get a boost as industry organization GSM Association takes charge of the development.
The Rich Communication Suite (RCS) Initiative was announced in February. Its goal is to turn the architectural framework IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) into standardized services offered by mobile operators. First-phase services include enhanced phonebook, enhanced messaging and enriched calling.
Enhanced phonebook includes contact information with presence support, which means that users will be able to see who is available and how they prefer to communicate in the phonebook. Contacts will have to give their permission for it to work. Enriched calling will, for example, make content sharing during a voice call a possibility, and enhanced messaging includes chat.
“These are services that in many cases are already available on the Internet, and when we talk to users it’s something they want on the mobile phone as well,” said J