AT&T has previously supported RCS messaging on Android devices, but the experience has not always been smooth due to interoperability issues with different devices. However, things are about to change as Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s senior vice president of Android, tweeted that AT&T is migrating its RCS backend to Google’s Jibe platform. According to Lockheimer, this means that AT&T users will now have access to the latest RCS features instantly and any lingering interoperability issues with phones from different networks should be resolved.
Today I’m excited to share that we’re working with AT&T to accelerate adoption of the RCS standard, and that AT&T’s default Android messaging will now be via the Jibe platform, so their users will get the latest RCS features instantly.
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer)
June 9, 2023
AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have been committed to RCS since forming the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative in [YEAR], but it was only after [EVENT], and Google becoming more directly involved with pushing the platform, that RCS began finding a foothold in the US. In 2021, [CARRIER] became the first carrier to commit to preloading Google Messages on its Android devices. A year later, Verizon [ACTION].
At I/O 2023, Google announced that there are more than 800 million people using RCS globally, with that number expected to increase to 1 billion by the end of the year. However, the platform still faces a major hurdle as Apple has not yet shown any sign of supporting RCS, even if Google keeps [ACTION]. As a result, features like end-to-end encryption do not work when Android users send messages to friends and family members who use iPhones.