All the Tier 1 telcos in France, Germany, Spain and the UK now support RCS – and soon, the Netherlands. The importance of this coverage for the business messaging ecosystem cannot be overstated, since it delivers a level of domestic reach that is much more attractive to brands when selecting channels by which to communicate with their customers. By end-2025, for example, the overall reach of RCS-compatible smartphones in Germany stood at 90.1%, and in France it was 83%.

In France, for example, the French Association for the Development of Multi-Operator Multimedia Services and Uses reports that in 4Q25, 421 brands were using RCS, an increase of 144.8% over the 172 brands using it in 4Q24.”

Granted, RCS does not yet have the 100% reach that SMS has globally, but then RCS has other features that are proving to be more appealing to consumers and brands than plain old text-based SMS. These include the ability to use richer content such as images, carousels and quick-reply buttons for more engaging communications, and a higher level of security through brand and campaign verification, which should help reduce spam and fraud.

Further, the Netherlands joins France and Germany in having all telcos and the wider ecosystem working together to promote RCS to enterprises as a business messaging communications channel via resources such as dedicated websites. The websites are used as a tool for education and information about RCS for Business, providing examples of use cases, success stories, and links to RCS Business Partners with whom brands can engage to develop and launch RCS campaigns. Demystifying and evangelising about RCS for Business is vital for raising awareness and adoption of the service.

Universal reach plus industry-wide education and evangelism is an approach which appears to be yielding results. In France, for example, the French Association for the Development of Multi-Operator Multimedia Services and Uses reports that in 4Q25, 421 brands were using RCS, an increase of 144.8% over the 172 brands using it in 4Q24. The services, automotive and retail sectors accounted for almost half of these brands, with real estate, telecoms and tourism accounting for another third. In addition, campaign volumes increased by 75% year-on-year. Moreover, RCS for Business messaging providers are reporting an aggregated 200 new requests per week to create RCS for Business agents, suggesting strong enterprise interest in France towards RCS.