Reliance Jio and Apple's RCS Partnership: Reshaping India's Messaging Landscape
Multigyan • August 29th, 2025 • 3 min read • 👁️ 52 views • 💬 0 comments
Reliance Jio and Apple Break New Ground: RCS Messaging Debuts on iPhone in India
Reliance Jio, India’s largest telco, has partnered with Apple to bring Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging to iPhones, a milestone that promises to reshape the country’s mobile communications landscape and challenge WhatsApp’s dominance in business and personal messaging.
RCS Messaging: What Is It?
RCS stands for Rich Communication Services, an advanced messaging protocol developed by the GSM Association in 2007. Unlike traditional SMS, RCS supports high-resolution media sharing, read receipts, typing indicators, encrypted conversations, group chats, and location sharing, all features that made apps like WhatsApp and Telegram popular. RCS aims to create a universal messaging experience standardized and supported directly by mobile carriers.
Why Is Jio’s Partnership So Significant?
Jio is the first Indian telecom operator to enable RCS messaging on iPhones, leveraging the newly released iOS 18 that introduces RCS support to Apple devices for the first time. Previously, RCS was mostly available on Android phones, but Apple’s adoption ends the “blue bubble versus green bubble” divide, allowing seamless messaging between iPhone and Android users.
With 494 million subscribers, Jio’s move enables users to send iMessage-style texts, including group chats and media attachments, over WiFi or mobile data without extra cost. This leap could potentially shift millions from simple SMS or third-party apps to carrier-powered messaging.
Airtel Stays on the Sidelines
Notably, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telco, has chosen not to join the RCS wave yet. Airtel has so far refused to partner with Google or Apple to deploy RCS, citing concerns about unchecked spam and security issues. The company has also approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), urging stronger regulations on over-the-top messaging platforms before making RCS widely available.
Business Messaging: The Next Big Opportunity
RCS isn't just about personal texts; it opens a new frontier for business messaging in India. Application-to-person (A2P) messaging, used by banks, retailers, and e-commerce firms to reach customers, has been dominated by WhatsApp Business. Experts are projecting an inflection point:
- Gartner estimates that WhatsApp and RCS will together account for $1.6 billion, 50% of India’s commercial messaging market value by 2028.
- Research from Omdia and Infobip forecasts RCS alone will generate $544 million in revenue by 2029, with India sending more than 21 billion RCS messages per year.
RCS allows businesses to deliver interactive messages directly to customers via native messaging apps (like iMessage or Android Messages), potentially improving engagement, trust, and conversion rates.
The Road Ahead for Messaging in India
Apple’s support for RCS fundamentally changes Google’s and Jio’s value proposition to consumers. Instead of relying entirely on over-the-top apps, users can enjoy advanced features within their existing messaging apps. For brands and enterprises, RCS offers verified sender capabilities, secure communications, and compatibility with India's largest telco network.
However, issues like spam prevention and regulatory compliance will remain critical. Airtel’s stance highlights the need for robust protections to ensure RCS doesn’t become another channel flooded with unwanted messages.
Conclusion
The Jio–Apple partnership for RCS on iPhones heralds a new era for Indian mobile messaging. It not only brings the market’s most advanced messaging standard to millions but also sets the stage for a battle over business messaging dollars. As users adopt RCS, the days of fragmented blue and green bubbles, limited SMS, and exclusive WhatsApp channels are giving way to a unified, secure, and interactive future.
The next few years will reveal whether RCS lives up to its promises, or if other Indian telcos and regulators decide to shape its future in unexpected ways.
