As persistent spam complaints have clouded Google’s Rich Communication Services (RCS) push in India, the company is turning to deeper carrier integration to bolster protections on the platform. On Sunday, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator with over 463 million subscribers, announced a partnership with Google to integrate the carrier’s network-level spam filtering into the RCS ecosystem in the country. This collaboration aims to strengthen defenses against unwanted messages and fraud, according to both companies.

RCS Spam and Fraud: A Growing Problem in India

India has become a particularly challenging market for spam and fraud across messaging channels. The nation’s vast mobile user base, rapid rise in digital payments, and aggressive enterprise promotional tactics have fueled these issues. In 2022, complaints about unsolicited ads on Google’s RCS—mainly through the Google Messages app—forced the company to temporarily pause business promotions on the platform. However, users still report frustration with persistent spam messages, indicating the problem is ongoing.

Airtel stated that it had been cautious about deeper alignment with Google’s RCS until it could route traffic through its own spam controls. This highlights telecom operators’ concerns regarding increasing fraud risks. “We had not onboarded Google because we first wanted RCS messages to be routed through the Airtel spam filter,” an Airtel spokesperson explained.

The new partnership combines Airtel’s network intelligence with Google’s RCS platform to enable real-time checks on business messaging, including sender verification, spam detection, and enforcement of users’ do-not-disturb preferences. Airtel described the move as a “global first” for integrating a telecom operator’s spam filtering directly into an over-the-top messaging platform—although specific global comparisons were not provided.

The Future of Secure Communication and Market Impact

Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem at Google, emphasized the company’s commitment to partnering with carriers to create a secure and trusted messaging experience for RCS users globally. This suggests the model could be extended beyond India as Google works to standardize security across the RCS ecosystem.

India is especially significant for Google’s messaging ambitions, boasting more than a billion internet users and over 700 million smartphone users. The country also counts over 853 million WhatsApp users, emphasizing intense competition in mobile messaging. According to Prabhu Ram, vice president at CyberMedia Research, deeper carrier integration is aimed at addressing weaknesses in rich messaging ecosystems that have long been susceptible to spam and fraud. “The efficacy of this partnership should be reflected in metrics such as reductions in spam volume, user complaints, and fraud incidence, as well as improvements in engagement with legitimate messages,” Ram commented.

Airtel has increasingly focused on anti-spam measures, with its AI-led systems reportedly blocking over 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam messages over the past year. These efforts have contributed to a nearly 69% reduction in fraud-related financial losses on its network. On a broader level, Google has positioned RCS as the successor to SMS, with more than a billion messages sent daily in the U.S. as of May 2025.

Google did not disclose plans for similar carrier integrations in other markets or estimate the potential reduction in spam and fraud from this initiative.

Tags: Google, RCS, spam, Indi, Airtel, siguria e mesazheve