The industry is rightly excited about RCS’s potential as a standard rich messaging platform for (nearly) all phones. But maybe that’s too limited. Can RCS also flourish on other device types? In this preview for MEF Connects Rich Communications, Doug Makishima, CSMO of Summit Tech, speculates…

When Summit Tech began developing its Odience concept for remote shopping and entertainment by VR, it couldn’t have imagined that a global pandemic would give the project special relevance.

But this is the world we are living in now. What makes Odience particularly interesting for the MEF audience is that it runs on RCS.

Summit Tech is a telecom specialist that builds software services to enterprises and MNOs. But it is also highly R&D focused, running a lab that explores radical new use cases for RCS and other telco applications – on VR, kiosks, in-car displays and more.

Summit Tech is one of the official supporters of the MEF Connects Rich Communications event, which runs from September 29 to October 1. Event sessions will shine explore the potential of RCS and OTT apps to revolutionise all aspects of marketing, sales and customer care.

In this teaser preview for the event, Doug Makishima, CSMO of Summit Tech, shares his thoughts on the future path for RCS beyond smartphones, pondering questions such as:

• Which new device types could host RCS?
• What will the use cases be?
• What will the UX look like?
• Why will the ‘edge computing’ promised by 5G accelerate this trend?