For years, RCS has promised richer customer experiences through branded messaging, rich media and interactive features. Yet despite the industry’s enthusiasm, the reality is that rollout has often been slower than many expected.
Operator deployment has remained uneven and enterprise adoption has taken time to develop. As a result, the global RCS market remains highly concentrated in a small number of key markets. While market concentration is often viewed as a risk, in the case of RCS it may help the industry to grow in the long term.
A Small Number of Markets Are Driving Global Revenue Growth
Mobilesquared’s latest forecasts show that RCS revenue growth is becoming increasingly concentrated in a handful of key markets including the US, India, Brazil, the UK, France and Germany. These markets all have large mobile subscriber bases, strong addressable RCS user base and operators which have largely aligned on RCS strategy. They also enjoy strong support from Google.
Collectively, the top ten markets are expected to account for 90% of global RCS revenue by 2030. The US alone is forecast to grow from $22.5 million in RCS revenue in 2026 to more than $400 million by 2030, while India is expected to exceed $408 million. Brazil, Germany, France and the UK will also generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual RCS revenue by the end of the decade.
The Same Pattern Is Emerging Among Operators
Not only can you see revenue concentration at the country level, you can see it at the operator level.
By 2030, the five largest operator groups are forecast to account for almost a quarter of all global RCS revenue, led by Telefónica, América Móvil, Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Bharti Airtel. These groups benefit from strong positions in some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing RCS markets. But these operator groups also largely exist in markets where operators that have invested in RCS early and actively promoted business messaging.
Market Leaders Are Creating Momentum for the Wider Ecosystem
In these markets, brand adoption is increasing, richer use cases are gaining traction and revenue growth is accelerating. And that is only going to benefit the entire RCS ecosystem in the long-term.
Lessons learned in one market can be shared with other operators within the group to help in creating more effective go-to-market strategies and accelerating adoption elsewhere. Success stories from one market can provide reassurance for enterprises considering RCS adoption. So rather than a sign of weakness, today’s concentration may provide a strong foundation to enable RCS to scale globally over the coming decade.
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