KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A new whitepaper commissioned by global communications platform Infobip shows Application-to-Person (A2P) Rich Communication Services (RCS) growth in Asia and Oceania region will generate $2.2 billion in revenue by 2029, with India leading the charge as the most promising market. 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:
Region |
Revenue 2024 |
Revenue 2029 |
Traffic 2024 |
Traffic 2029 |
Asia & Oceania |
$169m |
$2.2bn |
5.6bn |
64bn |
Americas |
$113m |
$1.5bn |
4.7bn |
54bn |
Europe |
$22m |
$324m |
800m |
11bn |
Middle East & Africa |
$13m |
$220m |
545m |
8bn |
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.
Ivan Ostojic, Chief Business Officer at Infobip, said: "RCS has many benefits, and with the Apple upgrade, it now has universal availability. Consumers do not need to download a chat app to send and receive photos or videos. Meanwhile, enterprises can take consumers through the entire customer journey from initial marketing pitch to purchase and support. This is also a significant opportunity for telcos to seize the benefits of RCS Business Messaging and deliver rich conversational messaging for customers."
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://bit.ly/4dJMMAv
About Infobip
Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip's omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact centre solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty. With over a decade of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to 75+ offices globally. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and 'things' in 6 continents connected to over 9,700+ connections of which 800+ are direct operator connections. Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić, Roberto Kutić and Izabel Jelenić.
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