MWC 2026: What Every Brand Considering RCS Needs to Know
Keywords: MWC 2026, RCS, RBM, vendor insights, testing gap, campaign validation, device fragmentation
#Hashtag1 #MWC #RCS #RBM #Messaging
MWC 2026 is in the books, and the RCS conversation is louder than ever. We analyzed 12+ LinkedIn posts from the industry's biggest names—Infobip, Sinch, HORISEN, iBASIS, and more. Here's what we found.
What Vendors ARE Saying
The dominant narrative at MWC 2026 was clear: RCS is winning.
Infobip showcased their AI-powered RCS partnership with Haas F1 Team, positioning RCS as the future of fan engagement. Their post emphasized "One Communication Platform" messaging and AI integration with Google.
Sinch's Miriam Liszewski captured the optimism: "RCS is the messaging upgrade businesses didn't know they needed" and "It's rich, interactive, secure… and yes fun!"
Carrier partnerships are accelerating. Twilio + KPN announced nationwide RCS Business Messaging in the Netherlands, with iOS support expected in 2026. Airtel + Google launched carrier-level spam protection for RCS in India—463 million subscribers now have verified business identity at the carrier level.
Fabrizio Salanitri from HORISEN, in a Juniper Research interview, framed the industry evolution as "from telecom foundations to AI-powered automation and omnichannel orchestration."
The 11-Year Problem
But not everyone is celebrating.
Andreas Constantinides asked the hard question that no vendor wants to answer: "Is SMS dying?"—11 years after first hearing about RCS at MWC 2015.
His critique cut deep: after 11 years, RCS is still "struggling to be what others became overnight." The US and some European countries are adopting, but the global vision remains unfulfilled.
This is the tension MWC 2026 revealed: vendors are bullish on RCS, but the industry veteran who actually understands the challenges is skeptical.
What's NOT Being Discussed
Here's what shocked us in our analysis:
- Testing/validation: Zero posts about how brands should test their RCS campaigns
- Device fragmentation: No discussion of rendering differences across Samsung, Pixel, and iPhone
- Carrier approval timelines: The 8-16 week wait gets zero airtime
- Preview capability: No vendor offers a "send and hope" solution
These aren't minor details. These are the real blockers for brands considering RCS.
The Testing Gap
While vendors compete for booth space at MWC, brands are launching RCS campaigns essentially blind:
- Submit campaign → Wait 8-16 weeks for carrier approval
- Launch blind → Hope messages render correctly across devices
- Discover issues → Fix in production, lose customers
The math is brutal: Device × Carrier × Region = countless rendering combinations. No vendor is solving this.
What Brands Actually Need
The brands that succeed with RCS will have access to:
- Instant preview across device types (Samsung, Pixel, iPhone)
- Testing independent of carrier approval
- Validation before submission—not after launch
- Flow testing and A/B capability for optimization
The gap between vendor marketing and brand reality is the opportunity.
Conclusion
MWC 2026 confirmed one thing: RCS is the future of messaging. It also confirmed the industry is avoiding the hard questions.
The conversation has shifted from "if RCS" to "how to execute RCS."
And the brands that solve the testing gap will lead the next chapter.
What was YOUR MWC takeaway? Share your thoughts below.
Sources: Infobip, Sinch, Andreas Constantinides, HORISEN, Juniper Research