Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile to replace SMS with RCS Messaging in 2020

Mobile carriers in the United States will finally offer a universal cross-carrier communication standard for the next-generation RCS messaging service that is meant to replace SMS and has the potential to change the way consumers interact with brands for years to come.

All major United States mobile phone carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, have joined forces to launch a new initiative that will replace SMS with RCS mobile messaging standard.

What’s more? The initiative is also working with its carrier ownership group and other companies to develop and deploy the new RCS standard in a new text messaging app for Android phones that is expected to be launched in 2020.

The goal of this joint venture, dubbed the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative (CCMI), is to deliver the GSMA’s Rich Communications Service (RCS) industry standard to consumers and businesses on each of the four carriers, both in the United States and globally.

“Efforts like CCMI help move the entire industry forward so we can give customers more of what they want and roll out new messaging capabilities that work the same across providers and even across countries,” said T-Mobile CEO John…