In response to ongoing issues with spam affecting its Rich Communication Services (RCS) in India, Google is enhancing its partnership with local telecom operators to improve security measures. On Sunday, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom provider with over 463 million subscribers, announced a collaboration with Google, aiming to integrate its network-level spam filtering into the RCS system within the country. This initiative seeks to enhance protection against unsolicited messages and fraud, according to statements from both companies.
India, known for its massive mobile user base and rapid digital payments growth, presents significant challenges in controlling spam and fraudulent activities in messaging platforms. In 2022, the volume of complaints over unsolicited advertisements on Google's RCS, mainly via the Google Messages app, led the company to temporarily halt business promotions on the platform in India. Despite these efforts, some users still report spam issues, indicating the problem persists.
Airtel has been cautious about aligning more closely with Google’s RCS until it could route message traffic through its own spam filtering systems, citing concerns over rising fraud risks. "We had not onboarded Google because we first wanted RCS messages to be routed through the Airtel spam filter," an Airtel spokesperson noted. The partnership will leverage Airtel’s network intelligence alongside Google’s RCS platform to conduct real-time checks on business messages, including verifying senders, detecting spam, and enforcing do-not-disturb preferences.
Airtel described this collaboration as a “global first” in integrating a telecom operator’s spam filtering technology directly into an over-the-top messaging service. Google has expressed a commitment to working with other telecom operators globally to create a consistent and secure messaging experience for RCS users. Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem at Google, emphasized the potential for this model to expand beyond India and standardize security across the RCS ecosystem.
India plays a crucial role in Google's messaging endeavors, with over a billion internet users and more than 700 million smartphones in use. The country also boasts over 853 million WhatsApp users, highlighting the fierce competition in mobile messaging. Prabhu Ram, vice president for industry research at CyberMedia Research, commented that the integration with carriers represents a strategic move to address longstanding vulnerabilities in rich messaging platforms.
The success of this partnership is expected to be measured by reductions in spam volume, user complaints, and incidents of fraud, as well as increased engagement with legitimate messages. Over the past year, Airtel reports that its AI-driven systems have blocked over 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam messages, contributing to a 69% reduction in fraud-related financial losses on its network.
On a broader scale, Google has been promoting RCS as the successor to SMS, with the service handling more than a billion messages daily in the U.S. as of May 2025, according to a 28-day average. However, Google has not yet disclosed whether similar carrier integrations are planned for markets outside India or estimated the potential impact on reducing spam and fraud.