Telco giants to demonstrate next phase of IP comms at MWC 2015

Some of the world’s leading operators are uniting with rich communication services (RCS) vendor Jibe at Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona. IP video calling, group chat and sharing will be demonstrated based on platforms developed by Jibe, in sync with RCS specifications laid out by the GSMA.

The demonstrations will be participated in by Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Vodafone and KPN; indicating a potentially pivotal moment for the industry in terms of accelerating the interconnection of IP-based communications services. Many operators have launched independent IP services to their own subscribers, and Jibe claims many more are in advanced stages of launching on native devices as OEMs bring RCS-enabled smartphones to market.

The next phase of ubiquity, the company reckons, will come as multiple international operators connect with each other and enable cross-border interconnectivity. Such interoperability could enable greater real-time interaction and sharing of video chat sessions, large media file sharing, group chat and more.

The demonstration, which will also see cross-device and OS integration including iPhone, Android and native embedded RCS devices, will be taking place in Barcelona next week. Sony Mobile will also be participating with the demonstration to show how it’s working with mobile operators to enable SMS/IP comms on new smartphones.

Amir Sarhangi, the CEO of Jibe, which is responsible for organising and hosting the demonstration, reckons the event could lead to the acceleration of new and more integrated forms of messaging service. “This is an important new phase for mobile consumers and the industry as leading Carriers such as Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Vodafone and KPN are now able to demonstrate the ability to connect their IP services providing seamless access to their subscribers across networks over the Jibe Hub,” he said.

“As carriers now move to interconnect their IP services, Jibe’s RCS Hub makes it easy for them to connect once to interoperate with every other operator on the Hub. With new device OEM’s native RCS support of smartphones, innovative new IP services will get a tremendous boost as the default messaging experience for consumers.”

Deutsche Telekom announced their participation in RCS service deployment at last year’s Mobile World Congress, and the T-Mobile owner will be expanding the service to regions throughout Europe this year. Kobus Smit, who is the head of voice and messaging and DT and also chairs the GSMA’s Network 2020 programme, reckons it’s the cloud-based architecture model for more dynamic and simplified messaging routing which enables RCS.

“This centralised approach has brought a new level of speed and efficiency to the introduction, scaling and continuous improvement of our innovative, customer-driven rich services throughout Europe,” he said.

Telecoms.com will be bringing you extensive news and analysis coverage direct from Mobile World Congress next week. Check back regularly for all of the goings-on from the show.