Signal is a means for message encryption, and if every platform used it and then were mandated to interop, they’d have to figure out how to do the actual transfer, yes. RCS is basically this except nerfed and partially Google-owned which is shit.
Google didn’t create RCS. The idea was floated in 2008 and in 2009 the GSM association (Non-profit, representing 700+ mobile carriers across the world) began directing the project. Since then 47 mobile network operators, 11 equipment manufacturers, and 2 operating system companies (Google & Microsoft) have pledged their support for RCS.
In fact, Google only started implementing RCS in 2019 whereas Samsung has been releasing phones since 2012 with RCS. Now RCS is actively used by over 88 operators in 59 countries with almost 400,000,000 daily users.
tl;dr - Apple not using RCS is Apple’s problem when the rest of the world does.
“Broke” isn’t really tye right word. The protocol exists and could be used but companies like Google added proprietary atuff that made it impossible to use it as an open universal “system”.
When people make a big stink about Apple not implementing RCS I always bring this up. RCS has an open core sure - but it’s lacking plenty of features that people refer to when talking about RCS. Furthermore, the gateways used for Google’s RCS implementation are made by a company Google acquired. Would we be happy with Apple charging cell providers money to install iMessage gateways at whatever cost they wanted, because they hold the patents? No, so why would we give Google a pass?
If we want to fix this issue, force Google to relinquish their control of RCS and open the standard unencumbered with patents. Require telecoms to implement the standard in full and without deviation or be fined. Give phone manufacturers a few more years to comply and then it’s done.
That’s true, but there would be additional challenges. Outside of the US, Android dominates the markets to the tune of +80%. In order for such an effort to have teeth, there has to be incentive for them to comply. They could pull iOS out of the EU market and remove iMessage from macOS if it came down to it. They are already such a small percentage they might just eat the loss as the cost of protecting their walled garden. Unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless.
Seriously. Hold them all accountable. Don't be pro-google/anti-apple because you happened to give some money to one of them. Scrutinize both at all times.
When people make a big stink about Apple not implementing RCS I always bring this up. RCS has an open core sure - but it’s lacking plenty of features that people refer to when talking about RCS. Furthermore, the gateways used for Google’s RCS implementation are made by a company Google acquired. Would we be happy with Apple charging cell providers money to install iMessage gateways at whatever cost they wanted, because they hold the patents? No, so why would we give Google a pass?
If we want to fix this issue, force Google to relinquish their control of RCS and open the standard unencumbered with patents. Require telecoms to implement the standard in full and without deviation or be fined. Give phone manufacturers a few more years to comply and then it’s done.
But hey, it’s not just you though; here in Finland we’ve had eg. multiple literal neo-Nazis in the government – one had to quit because, you know, he is a neo-Nazi, but the extremist right wing party he’s from replaced him with a pedophile neo-Nazi – and our Speaker of the Parliament has publicly fantasized on his blog about murdering gay people. And that’s just the highlight reel, it gets so much worse.
Matrix would be fantastic. Phone number accounts hosted on the carrier’s instance, and can federate with other instances.
Something like (for an American phone number): @0014204206969:matrix.att.com and have each carrier share which phone numbers are assigned to which carrier in some common protocol so all you would need is a phone number.
my whole experience with matrix is deeply disappointing. devices getting out of sync, not being able to decrypt messages, missing notifications and that fucking mark as read not working are daily problems
dig deeper and you’ll find the causes of the problems, which are disturbing. e.g. a json string is hashed (however 2 equal json objects can be the same while their strings are very different)
the only reason I still use it is a room I want to be part of
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