Spain becomes the first country in the world to offer a fully interoperable RCS
Movistar, Orange and Vodafone customers in Spain now have full access to joyn, the consumer facing brand of rich communications solution (RCS).
With this launch, Spain becomes the first country in the world to offer a fully interoperable RCS, stated the GSMA. It added that RCS and joyn are a major focus by the operator community to compete more effectively with the over-the-top players.
joyn enables customers to chat and access enriched messaging or voice calls by exchanging images or video simultaneously during calls, in a private and secure manner, with any member of their contact list that has joyn, regardless of the user's network or mobile device.
Movistar, Orange and Vodafone are initially offering joyn services through app stores with apps available for Android, with a version for the iPhone to follow shortly. Consumers will be able to purchase several joyn-embedded devices with Movistar, Orange and Vodafone in early 2013, once device manufacturers have got their products through interoperability testing and passed a certification process.
Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA, said: 'The GSMA is delighted that joyn services are now available across Spain, giving customers a greater choice of communication possibilities without compromising the quality and security they have come to expect from their mobile operator.
'This initial implementation of a new technology clearly required a major effort and strong leadership in the alignment of the ecosystem of manufacturers, developers and integrators, and operators. Consumers across the world will benefit from the leading efforts of these three operators in Spain.'
joyn services are now available from individual operators in Germany and the US. Further nationwide, cross operator implementations are expected in Germany this year and in several other European countries during 2013, O'Hara added.
