Brief
Kero releases white paper on RCS for Business as adoption nears 3.6 billion users
The paper, published by Kero of the Celerity Group, details global RCS usage forecasts, market gaps and strategic guidance for brands.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is being positioned as a major shift in business messaging, according to a white paper released by Kero, a specialist messaging provider within the Celerity Group.
What happened
Kero published the document, titled “Making Sense of RCS for Business,” to help brands navigate the evolving messaging landscape. The paper notes that global RCS users are projected to exceed 3.6 billion by 2028 and that RCS traffic could rise from 45.3 billion messages in 2025 to 1.14 trillion by 2030. It also highlights the uneven market coverage, citing over 80 % adoption in France and Germany versus roughly 22 % in South Africa.
What the reports add
The source explains that the white paper draws on Kero’s experience across the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa, offering a practical view of operational realities, carrier and regulatory complexities, and pricing differentials between RCS, SMS and WhatsApp Business. It outlines the backstory of RCS, including Google’s infrastructure role and Apple’s eight‑year holdout, and references early rollout lessons from India.
What was said
“RCS for Business is one of the most significant shifts in messaging in years, but it is also one of the most misunderstood,” said Athene Pharo, product and technical services manager at Kero. She added, “This paper isn’t about declaring one channel the winner. It’s about helping brands understand what SMS, WhatsApp and RCS each do well, so they can build a strategy that gets the right message to the right customer on the right channel, wherever that customer happens to be.”
How it came about
Kero’s release follows a broader industry focus on richer, interactive messaging formats as brands seek alternatives to plain SMS. Earlier this month, BulkSMS announced a refreshed brand and expanded gateway, reflecting growing interest in multi‑channel messaging solutions. The Kero paper aims to equip marketers with data‑driven guidance amid regulatory changes and the rise of AI‑enhanced communication tools.
Key facts
- Global RCS users are forecast to exceed 3.6 billion by 2028. (bizcommunity.com)
- RCS traffic is projected to grow to 1.14 trillion messages by 2030. (bizcommunity.com)
- Market coverage varies, with over 80 % adoption in France and Germany and about 22 % in South Africa. (bizcommunity.com)
- Kero’s white paper draws on experience in the US, UK and South Africa. (bizcommunity.com)
- Athene Pharo described RCS for Business as a significant but misunderstood shift. (bizcommunity.com)
Sources
- [1] bizcommunity.com — originally reported as “The next big shift in business messaging - Celerity. chat”
