What is the difference between an SMS Sender Identity and RCS Agent?

[Tim_Heyes]

An SMS Sender Identity (ID) is a basic identifier (number or limited alphanumeric string) that appears on a user's phone to show who the SMS message is from. Long numbers, short codes, 10DLC, and Alphanumeric senders are examples of these. SMS is primarily for plain text messaging and a Sender ID has varying levels of brand recognition and trust depending on the type and regional support.

An RCS Agent is a verified and branded identity that represents a brand in an RCS messaging experience between a business and consumer. To send RCS, a brand must go through a registration and approval process. Once approved, the brand will have this branded, verified business profile and can send messages to a user's native mobile messaging inbox, if they have an RCS-enabled device. This promotes more trusted customer communications and increased engagement. 

Unlike SMS, RCS is not directly connected to a long number or short code, but you need one to fallback to SMS if RCS is not available, and some carriers require fallback to SMS or MMS if an RCS message cannot be delivered.

For more information on RCS, visit the Sinch RCS product page.

[#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 your RCS Sender Agent (or 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.
   Color & logo	Style the look and feel of your agent by adding your company logo and brand colours.
   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.
   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. Operators 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: However, 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 time frame 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 launching your agent

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 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 launch your agent!

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 your RCS Agent has been successfully launched! Check with your Account Manager for confirmation or if you have any questions. 

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 and you can start sending RCS messages!

Sending your first RCS messages 

Once you receive confirmation that your RCS Agent has been successfully 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.