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Google and Rogers are bringing RCS messaging enhancements to Canada

Starting today, Rogers customers using Google's Messenger app will be able to take advantage of RCS features like group chat, high-res photo sharing, read receipts and typing indicators.
By
December 13, 2016

Just last month, Google announced that Sprint would be the very first carrier to bring RCS (Rich Communications Services) enhancements to customers via the Google Messenger app. Now the company plans to bring the richer messaging experience to customers in Canada, thanks to a new partnership with Rogers.

What is RCS messaging and why is it important?
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Google Messages logo on smartphone laying on table (4)
Starting today, December 13, Rogers customers using Google’s Messenger app will be able to take advantage of advanced features like group chat, high-res photo sharing, read receipts and typing indicators. While the RCS rollout is starting today, Google says it will be available to all Rogers customers soon.

To make sure the most people will get the chance to take advantage of these new enhancements, Rogers will preload Messenger as the standard messaging app for new Android devices next year.

So, what exactly is RCS? Well, many people rely on SMS to make plans and stay in touch with friends every day, but unfortunately SMS is pretty far behind every other messaging platform in terms of features. For instance, Google Allo, Hangouts, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and plenty of others allow users to take advantage of real group chat, read receipts, typing indicators and more. Now, Google is working with a number of carriers around the world to bring all of those features and more to SMS.

As stated above, RCS features, which are powered by the Jibe RCS cloud, are only available on Sprint and Rogers networks at the moment, but more carriers will be added to the growing list in the next couple of months.