T-Mobile and Google partner to allow inter-carrier RCS messaging

Posted on May 26, 2020 by C. Scott Brown

RCS on the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Right now, any Android user can use rich communication services (RCS) messaging. All you need is for everyone in the chat to be using Google’s Messages app. However, T-Mobile RCS messaging just got an expansion which gives users more freedom in how they text.

Now, T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile users can use their native smartphone texting app on any of over 40 popular Android phones and still receive the benefits of RCS texting regardless of which carrier their texting partner uses. The only caveat is that the non-T-Mobile user must be using Google’s Messages app.

If that’s confusing, this might make more sense:

  • Before today: T-Mobile user texting T-Mobile user = RCS supported (on supported devices)
  • Before today: T-Mobile user texting non-T-Mobile user = No RCS support
  • After today: T-Mobile user texting non-T-Mobile user = RCS support (on supported devices/apps)

Essentially, this means that T-Mobile RCS support is getting a broader reach, which is always a good thing. Yes, RCS is still a mess and yes, Apple still has the lead when it comes to carrier-agnostic texts, but today’s news narrows the gap a bit more.

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