RCS for Business message types and RCS Agent billing categories

[Shahzad_Ismail]

Carriers that approve RCS for Business content on their networks also price and bill for delivering RCS for Business messages to their subscribers. There are RCS for Business Message types and Billing categories and it's important to distinguish between these concepts - RCS Agent billing categories are different from RCS message types. 

Message types and supported billing may vary by region, but for the most part, Google and carriers define these as follows:

All countries except US

The following information applies to all countries except for the United States.

Message types  (all countries except US)

• Basic messages: text-only messages <160 UTF-8 bytes (like SMS). Special characters (e.g., emojis or accented letters) may be counted as multiple bytes toward the 160 UTF-8 byte limit. Use a reliable UTF-8 byte counter to confirm the count.
  
  
• Single messages: plain text messages >160 UTF-8 bytes, or content-rich messages (e.g. media, suggested actions/replies, cards, carousels, etc).
  
  

Billing categories (all countries except US)

• A billing category is a classification for your RCS Agent that tells carriers how to charge for the messages your agent sends. You choose this category when you create your agent; you may need to un-launch your agent change this later.
  
  
• Businesses register their RCS Agents as Non-conversational or Conversational. The difference is how they are billed and pricing is set by the carriers.
  
  
  • Messages on Non-conversational RCS Agents will always be billed per message - charged as Basic or Single message depending on what is sent.
     
  • Messages sent on Conversational RCS Agents:
     
    • Will be billed as one Single/Basic message, unless the consumer replies.
       
    • If the consumer replies, billing switches to the session-based price. All messages sent and received in a period (generally 24h) are included in the session.
       
    • The clock starts from the time the consumer replies, as long as that message is sent within 24 hours of the MO.
         
    • If a consumer sends in a message to an Agent outside of an existing session, a new session will be started when the business replies.

US only

The following information only applies to the United States.

Message types (US)

• Rich messages:
  ​
  • Text-only message< 160 UTF-8 bytes (like SMS).
    
    
  • Text above the 160 UTF-8 byte character count will result in multiple Rich messages. For example, A 300-byte message has a segment count of 2 (300 bytes / 160 = 1.875, rounded up to 2 segments).
    
    
  • Special characters (e.g., emojis or accented letters) may be counted as multiple bytes toward the 160 UTF-8 byte limit. Use a reliable UTF-8 byte counter to confirm the count.
    ​
  • Suggested replies
    ​
  • Suggested action: Open URL
    ​
  • Suggested action: Dial a number
    ​
• Rich Media messages: Content-rich, including media, videos, files, and all other suggested actions including webview.
  

Billing categories (US)

• Businesses register their RCS Agents as Non-conversational or Conversational. The difference is how they are billed and pricing is set by the carriers.
  
  
  • Messages on Non-conversational RCS Agents will always be billed per message - charged as a Rich or Rich Media message depending on what is sent.
     
  • Messages sent on Conversational RCS Agents:
     
    • Will be billed as one Rich Media/Rich message unless an Interactive Session is triggered.
      
      
    • An Interactive Session is triggered when a brand agent and a user exchange four Rich or Rich Media messages (including at least one mobile-terminated (MT) message and at least two mobile-originated (MO) responses within a 24-hour period). Those four messages are collectively referred to as a "Session Trigger".
      
      
    • An Interactive Session is treated as a single billable event that includes all Rich and Rich Media messages exchanged between an RBM agent and a consumer within 24 hours of the first message of a Session Trigger.
      
      
    • Once the 24-hour session completes, subsequent MT & MO messages will be monitored to determine if another 24-hour session is triggered.
         
      ​

Important Notes:

• You can change your agent's billing category before you create and launch your agent. After launch, you may need to un-launch your agent in order to change the billing category. Contact your Sinch Account Manager to discuss changing to a different billing category post-launch.
  
  
• For non-US regions, if multiple A2P messages are sent before the first P2A message (customer reply), only the A2P message immediately preceded by that P2A message is part of the conversation. The initial messages are billed as Basic or Single messages individually. 

[#2]

This article details the steps required to set up RCS for use with Sinch Conversation API. 

Prerequisites 

Before you can set up an RCS channel on the Conversation API, you need to setup Conversation API.

Note: If you have already setup Conversation API by completing the Conversation API Getting started steps, you can skip this section. 

To setup Conversation API take the following steps:

1. Sign up for the Sinch Build Dashboard. 
2. Get access to Conversation API. 
3. Create your access key. Any API calls you make will require authentication information provided by your access key. 

Refer to the Get access section of the Conversation API Getting started guide for more information on any of these steps.  

Step 1 – Setup your RCS Agent

To start using RCS through Conversation API, you must register and launch your RCS Agent. Watch this video to learn how to set up and launch your RCS Agent:

All the steps are outlined in detail in the step-by-step guide below.

Setting up your RCS Agent step-by-step guide:

Log in to the Sinch Build Dashboard and select the Agents option from the RCS menu in the left panel. The RCS Business Messaging – Agents page is displayed:

This page contains important details about the information you need before you can create an RCS Agent.

To create an RCS Agent, follow the steps below:

1. Click Create agent. The Create agent form is displayed:
   
   
   
   Step 1. Agent details of this form contains the following sections XXXX:
   
   

   Name and description	Enter a name and description for your agent which relates to your company as this information will be visible when users interact with the agent. Some carriers have specific rules about the Agent name and description. See more here.
   Color & logo	Style the look and feel of your agent by adding your company logo and brand colors. These colors are shown in your contact profile on Android only.
   Agent contact information and policies	Add important contact information for your business.

   
   Note:  Mandatory fields which must be completed are marked with an asterisk (*).

   
   As you fill out the form, the Agent previewer displayed on the right (outlined in blue above) will show you how this information will look in an RCS message.

   
   Once you have completed this section, click Continue to settings.
   
   

2. The 2. Agent settings step of the form is displayed:
   
   
   
   This step allows you to further configure your agent:
   
   

   Conversation API app	Select an existing Conversation API app or you can choose to create a new app, to connect to your agent. Select the Use existing app radio button if you want to use an existing Conversation API app and then select the app you’d like to use from the drop-down list. Select the Create new app radio button to create a new Conversation API app, then enter a name for the new app and select the region in which the app’s data will be hosted. The RCS channel will be automatically activated for your specified Conversation API app, and your RCS agent will be automatically connected to the app once it has been created. Warning:  If you plan to use an existing Conversation API app, your Conversation API app must have been created in the same region that your RCS Agent is provisioned. If your Conversation API app is created in a different region than the RCS Agent is provisioned, the RCS channel will report errors, and you won't receive your delivery receipts.
   Countries	Select one or more countries you want to send messages to using your agent. If the country, you want to send to is not listed it means that you cannot launch in that market yet. You may create an agent without selecting a country (select the Add countries later option) so you can test, but prior to launch you need to select a country. Note: You can also select one country now and add more countries later as they become available. See available countries here.
   Agent purpose	Select the billing category and use case for your agent. Note: These can’t be changed after creating the agent.

   
   

   Refer to the Agent setting guide on the right panel for full details and explanations of the fields.
   
   

   Once you have completed this section, click Continue to settings.

3. The 3. Agent experience step of the form is displayed. Mobile operators/carriers need to know how users interact with your agent. We have populated the form with our recommendations. If something doesn’t match your interactions feel free to make changes to suit your requirements.
   
   For certain countries, you need some special configurations to enable and setup RCS. You can add this information in the Country Specific questions section of the form. 
   
   Note: In some cases additional information is required for the network carrier(s). Sinch or the carrier may need to follow up with you directly to gather the required information or you may need to complete another task, like sending an email. Each carrier has their own timeframe for approving agents.
   
   Once you have completed this section, click Continue to summary.
   
   

4. The 4. Agent summary step of the form is displayed:
   
   
   
   This shows you a summary of your RCS Agent. Carefully review the information you have entered.
   
   To make any changes, click the Edit button. To create your agent, click Create agent.
   
   Your agent will be created, and a confirmation message is displayed:
   
   

Step 2 – Test your agent prior to submitting your agent for launch

Important Note: To test RCS, you need to have a recipient device (mobile handset) that supports RCS for Business. Your ability to test may also be dependent on your carrier. If you encounter any issues, please reach out to your Account Manager.

To test your agent, follow the simple steps below:

1. To ensure that everything has been setup correctly you can send a test message:
   
   
   
   Click Test agent now.
   
   

2. The Add test number dialog is displayed. Enter a test number (include the plus sign, country code, and number with no spaces or dashes) and click Continue:
   
   

3. An invitation from Google will be sent to your test number:
   
   
   
   Click Make me a tester. Google will send a confirmation message to your handset.
   
   

4. The Capability check confirmation dialog will be displayed on the Build Dashboard:
   
   
   
   Click Continue.
   
   

5. The Send a test message dialog is displayed:
   
   
   
   Select the type of message you want to send from the Message drop down. Click Send test message.
   
   The message will be sent to your test number.
   
   

Once you have confirmed you have successfully received the test message you are ready to submit your agent for launch! If your country isn't supported yet, you can still test and wait until RCS for Business becomes available in your destination country. 

Step 3 – Launch RCS Agent

Note: If you’re looking to launch in an unavailable market (country), you will need to wait until that market becomes available.

To Launch the RCS Agent:

1. Return to the RCS->Agents page:
   
   
   
   Click Launch Agent.
   
   

2. The Launch agent form is displayed:
   
   
   
   Complete the additional required fields with the requested information regarding your brand and contact details. Click Continue.
   
   

3. The form is refreshed and a list of countries you have selected to send messages to is displayed along with details the countries where additional information is required:
   
   
   
   For example, to send messages to the United Kingdom, you are requested to complete the Additional requirements – United Kingdom section .In this case, completing the section entails using the details provided to send authorization emails to each of the various operators in the United Kingdom.
   
   Follow the instructions in the Additional requirements sections and once you have completed the requested actions, select the confirmation radio button to confirm you have done this.
   
   

4. Click Launch Agent. The information you have provided will be submitted to Sinch.
   
   

• For some cases we can submit the information straight to Google. Google may follow up with the brand asking for consent to launch agent using Sinch. In such cases the launch agent process can take 2-3 days provided you respond with the requested information promptly.
  
  
• However, in many cases additional information is required for the carrier(s) and we will need to follow up directly with you to gather the required information. In some cases, the carrier may also follow up directly with you for additional information.

Once approved, your RCS Agent has been successfully launched! Check with your Account Manager for confirmation or if you have any questions. You can see the status of your RCS Agent at any time in the Sinch Build dashboard. 

Step 4 – Set your channel priority

Conversation API allows you send messages across multiple messaging channels including RCS. If you have configured multiple channels on the Conversation API App, you can set the channel priority . 

If your channel priority is already established or you already know how to set channel priority, you are now ready to go!

Sending your first RCS messages 

Once you receive confirmation that your RCS Agent has been successfully approved and launched, you are ready to send RCS messages using the Conversation API:

• For a quick walkthrough that explains how to send RCS messages using the Conversation API (via Postman), see the second half of this video tutorial.
  
  
• For a more detailed procedure that explains how to send messages using the Conversation API, see our Getting Started guide for Conversation API. Select your preferred coding language and follow the corresponding instructions. Note that our Getting Started guides are preset to use the SMS channel; you’ll need to update the code snippets to use the RCS channel. Also, you won’t need to include the SMS sender value in your RCS code.
  
  
• For full details on sending messages using the Conversation API, refer to the API Reference Guide. 

Support

Reach out to your Account Manager for more information or if you have questions.