RCS
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Telecom
| Stands for | Rich Communication Services |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
RCS stands for Rich Communication Services, a telecom abbreviation.
Messaging standard from the mobile industry that upgrades SMS with typing indicators, read receipts, high-resolution photos and videos, group chats and messaging over Wi-Fi or mobile data. It is the default in Google Messages and has been supported on iPhones since iOS 18.
Example: Now that both phones use RCS, the photos arrive in full quality and I can see when she's typing.
Usage notes
The GSMA launched the RCS initiative in 2008 and the Universal Profile in 2016, but carrier rollouts were slow until Google drove adoption on Android. Apple added RCS in iOS 18 in 2024, improving messaging between iPhones and Android phones. In 2025 the GSMA added end-to-end encryption based on the MLS protocol to the standard, and Apple said it would support it.
Related abbreviations
More telecom abbreviations
- POTS – Plain old telephone service
- PSTN – Public switched telephone network
- PTT – Push-to-talk
- PUK – PIN Unblocking Key
- QAM – Quadrature amplitude modulation
- RAN – Radio access network
- RF – Radio frequency
- RFID – Radio-frequency identification
- RJ11 – Registered Jack 11
- RSSI – Received signal strength indicator
- SAR – Specific absorption rate
- SDR – Software-defined radio