Getting started with RCS

RCS for Business is an alternative to SMS. To deliver the messages, telecom operators are used, allowing you to send rich content instead of simple text messages.

RCS Message types

Feature	Support	Remarks
Text	Yes	-
Media	Yes	Support for: images, video, audio and document (PDF)
Suggested replies/actions	Yes	Text with max. 11 buttons
Rich card	Yes	Support for generic, media, reply, location, dial, agenda, openUrl and openUrl with web view rich cards
Carousels	Yes	A carousel of min. 2 and max. 10 rich cards

RCS Billing Categories

Below, we present the different billing categories. A billing category is a classification for your RCS profile that informs carriers how to charge for the messages sent by your profile. This category is determined during the ordering process and cannot be changed afterward.

Type	Description
Non-Conversational	Billed per message (Basic and/or Single Message)
Conversational	Billed per conversation: If one party (the agent or user) replies to a message from the other party within 24 hours, a conversation starts. Billed per message (Basic and/or Single Message): If the agent delivers a message that the user doesn't reply to within 24 hours, the agent will be billed for the individual message, similar to a non-conversational agent.

RCS Billing types

Below, you will find more information about the billing types. The global billing types are applicable to all countries except the United States.

Global billing types:

Type	Description
Basic Message	An application-to-person (A2P) message that includes only text with 160 characters or less. No additional media or rich features are included. Conversational Profiles only: If a P2A message is received within the next 24 hours, the Basic Message becomes part of an A2P Conversation. Otherwise, the event ends, and it will be billed as a Basic Message.
Single Message	An application-to-person (A2P) message that contains either rich features or text-only content exceeding 160 characters. Conversational Profiles only: If a person-to-application (P2A) message is received within the next 24 hours, the Single Message becomes part of an A2P Conversation. Otherwise, the event ends, and it will be billed as a Single Message.
Conversation	Conversational Profiles only: An application-to-person (A2P) Conversation is initiated when a person-to-application (P2A) message is received within 24 hours of an A2P message. All messages delivered within the 24 hours following the first A2P message will be counted as part of the A2P Conversation event. A person-to-application (P2A) Conversation is initiated when there is no active event, a P2A message is received, and the user responds. The event ends 24 hours after the user's first response. All messages exchanged within that 24-hour period will be included in the P2A Conversation event.

United States billing types:
Conversational pricing is not supported in the United States.

Type	Description
MT Basic Message	An application-to-person (A2P) message that includes only text with 160 characters or less. No additional media or rich features are included.
MT Single Message	An application-to-person (A2P) message that either has rich content or is a text-only message over 160 characters.
MO Basic Message	A person-to-application (P2A) message that includes only text with 160 characters or less. No additional media or rich features are included.
MO Single Message	A person-to-application (P2A) message that either has rich content or is a text-only message over 160 characters.