Google/Android Chat on Vodafone

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turb

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#233692 28-Apr-2018 06:53

I’ve been reading about Google’s new “chat” standard to upgrade basic SMS, a bit like apple’s iMessage.

The articles say it can’t be used until your carrier has activated it.

When will VNZ activate it? Or has it already? What needs to happen before I can use it on my Samsung A3 2017 phone?

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#2003872 28-Apr-2018 07:02

@turb name of this service? Sounds like something that will not get off the ground due to services like WhatsApp / imessage

Please provide link to what you were reading

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#2003873 28-Apr-2018 07:11

It's RCS, already has a number of telcos rolling it out (again).

Google is now focus on this and stopped work on its other message services (allo etc)

turb

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#2003874 28-Apr-2018 07:20

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-messages-chat-rcs-anil-sabharwal-imessage-texting

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#2003878 28-Apr-2018 07:44

RCS is not new Vodafone , 2degrees Telecom spent bucket load of cash on this already then pulled the plug

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#2003879 28-Apr-2018 07:46

Google search ' Vodafone Joyn ' I was on the trial

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#2003880 28-Apr-2018 07:52

RCS has about as much chance of succeeding as it did in 2017 when telcos invested in it and it flopped, 2016 when telcos invested in it and it flopped, 2015 when telcos invested in it and it flopped, 2014 when telcos invested in it and it flopped, 2013 when telcos invested in it and it flopped and 2012 when telcos invested in it and it flopped.

Joyn was a miserable failure for the Vodafone Group, and here in NZ Vodafone spent a lot on their IMS solution to launch Joyn and also involved Spark and 2degrees in their joiny network testing. It was such a dismal failure it was scapped.

The only reason Google are focused on RCS as a solution is because telcos can monetise RCS whereas they can't monetise other OTT solutions such as WhatsApp or iMessage. Telcos are stuck in some crazy world where they think being able to charge people 20c per message is smart.

When will it come here? Probably never is the best answer to that right now. How long will Chat exist in the market before it's pulled by Google and ends up like Hangouts and doomed? I'd give it 6 months.

It's also worth noting for comparison that Chat is nothing like iMessage.

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#2003891 28-Apr-2018 08:22

A number of telcos around the globe have said they will support it including Australia. Noteworthy for us no NZ telcos are on this list.

Advanced Info Service (AIS) - Thailand
Airtel - India
América Móvil - Mexico
AT&T - USA
Axiata - Malaysia
Beeline - Russia
Bell Mobility - Canada
China Mobile - China
China Telecom - China
China Unicom - China
Claro - Latin America
Deutsche Telekom - Germany
Etisalat - UAE
Globe Telecom - Philippines
Ice - Norway
Indosat Ooredoo - Indonesia
KDDI - Japan
KPN - Netherlands
M1 Limited - Singapore
MegaFon - Russia
Millicom - Latin America and Africa
MTN Group - South Africa
MTS - Russia
NTT Docomo - Japan
Optus - Australia
Orange - France
Personal - Argentina
Play - Poland
Reliance Jio - India
Rogers - Canada
Singtel - Singapore
Smart Communications - Philippines
Sprint - USA
StarHub - Singapore
Telcel - Mexico
Tele2 - Nordic countries
Telefónica - Spain
Telenor - Norway
Telia Company - Sweden
Telkomsel - Indonesia
Telstra - Australia
Telus - Canada
TIM - Italy
T-Mobile - USA
Turkcell - Turkey
Verizon - USA
VEON - Netherlands
Vodafone

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#2003899 28-Apr-2018 08:35

MikeB4: A number of telcos around the globe have said they will support it including Australia. Noteworthy for us no NZ telcos are on this list.

Advanced Info Service (AIS) - Thailand
Airtel - India
América Móvil - Mexico
AT&T - USA
Axiata - Malaysia
Beeline - Russia
Bell Mobility - Canada
China Mobile - China
China Telecom - China
China Unicom - China
Claro - Latin America
Deutsche Telekom - Germany
Etisalat - UAE
Globe Telecom - Philippines
Ice - Norway
Indosat Ooredoo - Indonesia
KDDI - Japan
KPN - Netherlands
M1 Limited - Singapore
MegaFon - Russia
Millicom - Latin America and Africa
MTN Group - South Africa
MTS - Russia
NTT Docomo - Japan
Optus - Australia
Orange - France
Personal - Argentina
Play - Poland
Reliance Jio - India
Rogers - Canada
Singtel - Singapore
Smart Communications - Philippines
Sprint - USA
StarHub - Singapore
Telcel - Mexico
Tele2 - Nordic countries
Telefónica - Spain
Telenor - Norway
Telia Company - Sweden
Telkomsel - Indonesia
Telstra - Australia
Telus - Canada
TIM - Italy
T-Mobile - USA
Turkcell - Turkey
Verizon - USA
VEON - Netherlands
Vodafone

Where did that list come from? It looks a lot like the list of current RCS providers.

It's important to note that without interoperability across networks the only features you'll have are exactly the same as SMS now. All 3 NZ networks working on Joyn was going to mean it would have been some use in NZ, but it was such a lame solution at the end of the day they all just pulled the plug.

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#2003900 28-Apr-2018 08:35

It will be interesting to see how it goes. Google is building it directly into the messaging app so no additional downloads required for android users. The carriers do seem to be on board. How can the carriers monetize this @sbiddle ?

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turb

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#2003909 28-Apr-2018 08:56

The Wikipedia page for RCS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services says that VNZ implemented the Universal Profile in Feb 2017.

As usual, discussion on the Internet is focussed on Verizon and Sprint, but there is consensus that the “Android Messages” app will use RCS if it’s available and if the other party has the right phone, right network, and right app.

I’d love to test this, but all the contacts I check on the AM app show “sms” in the text entry box.

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#2003910 28-Apr-2018 08:56

https://www.androidcentral.com/these-are-all-carriers-support-google-chat

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turb

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#2003912 28-Apr-2018 08:59

Do any of you have the native Android Messages app on the VNZ network?

Would you care to PM me your number and we can try texting to see what happens?

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turb

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#2003939 28-Apr-2018 10:04

I found this old GZ thread too: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=208731

The VF Message+ app is still on Google Play Store, and appears to work for plain SMS, but I can’t think of a way of testing its RCS capability.

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#2003943 28-Apr-2018 10:18

turb: I found this old GZ thread too: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=208731

The VF Message+ app is still on Google Play Store, and appears to work for plain SMS, but I can’t think of a way of testing its RCS capability.

Not RCS related

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#2003955 28-Apr-2018 10:53

hairy1:

How can the carriers monetize this @sbiddle ?

The same way they do with SMS and MMS now - it's connecting via their servers so they can clip the ticket. With OTT providers they have no way of doing that.

RCS support already exists with Android for anybody using Messages which is now the default Android SMS app on many handsets. The news this week isn't really news - Google announced it's RCS push in February at MWC, all that's really news is that Messages is going to be renamed Chat.

Google have also now launched their Jibe platform which allows inter-network RCS messaging, something that is critical for the platform to succeed, and arguably the reason why RCS has been such a flop up until now. IMHO it's a classic case of something that's now taken 6 years in the market since the first networks launched RCS solutions to get to the point where it's usable, and with OTT solutions such as WhatsApp, iMessage and Viber now dominating the market I don't see much hope of anything changing.

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