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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=4>not sure but perhaps, we can contact one of
the
providers and ask?</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=cheiro_alice@aol.com
href="mailto:cheiro_alice@aol.com">Alice Eaddy</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 27, 2019 9:14 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=njtechdiv@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:njtechdiv@nfbnet.org">New Jersey Technology Division List</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=jdegen16@comcast.net
href="mailto:jdegen16@comcast.net">Jane Degenshein</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NJTechDiv] At&T, Verizon, Sprint and t mobile
work
together to replace antiquated text messaging</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri";
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY:
inline'>Dear
Jane and njtechdiv,
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If this roll out occurs down the road what will it mean for blind and
DeafBlind accessibility?
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Alice <BR><BR>
<DIV dir=ltr>Sent from my iPhone</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">On Oct 27, 2019, at 8:02 PM, Jane Degenshein via
NJTechDiv <njtechdiv@nfbnet.org> wrote:<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000"><FONT
color=#000000 size=4>Here is an article I got on Friday and thought I
would
share with my list serve</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">By
Mike Peterson </FONT></FONT>
<DIV><IMG class=ff-og-image-inserted
src="https://cdn.idropnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/25125343/iPhone-Texting-SMS-Messages.jpg"
data-unique-identifier=""></DIV>
<P class=has-drop-cap><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The U.S.’s big four carriers announced a new
partnership to push a next-generation messaging standard that could
eventually
replace SMS text messaging.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">AT&T,
Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint announced the “Cross-Carrier Messaging
Initiative” (</FONT></FONT><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
style='href:
"https://www.verizon.com/about/news/att-sprint-t-mobile-and-verizon-form-joint-venture-transform-messaging-experience"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">CCMI</FONT></A></FONT><FONT
face="Times New
Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">) in a
joint
press release on Friday.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">That
initiative
focuses on the RCS messaging protocol — which could simultaneously replace
SMS
and put pressure on iMessage. Here’s what you should
know.</FONT></FONT></P>
<H2><FONT face="Times New Roman">Replacing SMS with RCS</FONT></H2>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In a
nutshell,
the </FONT></FONT><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
style='href:
"https://www.idropnews.com/news/googles-working-on-an-imessage-killer-for-android/108985/"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">RCS (Rich Communication Services)
protocol</FONT></A></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> will bring internet-based messaging features —
like
those seen on WhatsApp or iMessage — to standard text
messages.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">SMS is an
objectively terrible messaging standard, especially when compared to the
aforementioned internet standards.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">If carriers
actually do end up adopting RCS, it could mean better group chats, typing
indicators and higher-quality images and videos, among other benefits.
Basically, everything that iMessage does and SMS doesn’t. (RCS is not
currently end-to-end encrypted like iMessage is,
however.)</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But RCS is
also
extremely complicated, both technically and politically. The bottlenecks
associated with actually adopting the standard are likely why you may
never
have heard of it.</FONT></FONT></P>
<H2><FONT face="Times New Roman">What the Carriers Announced
Today</FONT></H2>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">CCMI is,
essentially, a coalition of the </FONT></FONT><FONT style="FONT-SIZE:
12pt"><A
style='href:
"https://www.verizon.com/about/news/att-sprint-t-mobile-and-verizon-form-joint-venture-transform-messaging-experience"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">biggest carriers</FONT></A></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> in the U.S. The
joint
venture’s main goal is to “create a single seamless, interoperable RCS
experience across carriers, both in the U.S. and globally.”</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">While the
CCMI
has a long way to go, it did announce a new RCS-based Android app that
will
ship sometime next year.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The CCMI
will
also work with device manufacturers to ensure that the messaging standard
is
interoperable across various smartphones and systems. Though, at this
point,
Google, Samsung and other OEMs haven’t commented.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Lastly, the
CCMI
also positions RCS as a potential win for businesses, allowing customers
to
interact with brands and support staff much more easily than they would
over
SMS.</FONT></FONT></P>
<H2><FONT face="Times New Roman">What This Means for Apple</FONT></H2>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It’s not
clear
what this means for Apple, particularly since it’s very early in RCS’s
potential adoption.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But, of
course,
there have long been problems with SMS text messages, particularly on
iPhones.
You may be familiar with the whole </FONT></FONT><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
style='href:
"https://www.idropnews.com/news/samsung-hopes-these-bizarre-gifs-will-make-you-feel-better-about-not-using-imessage/115038/"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">green bubble / blue bubble
debacle</FONT></A></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A universal
RCS
standard would essentially do away with the </FONT></FONT><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
style='href:
"https://www.idropnews.com/news/why-apple-gives-android-users-green-bubbles-in-imessage/107038/"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">differences between Android and iMessage
protocols</FONT></A></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">. But that is, of course, dependent on whether or
not
Apple actually adopts it on its iPhones.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Apple, for
its
part, has offered no comment on the RCS standard. That’s likely because it
<EM>already has iMessage</EM>, so its users may not benefit the same way
Android users will.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But, like
WhatsApp or other internet-based protocols, a universal RCS standard could
go
toe-to-toe with iMessage and put quite a bit of pressure on Apple. If
iMessage
loses its advantages, then Apple may have a stronger incentive to bring
iMessage to Android, for example.</FONT></FONT></P>
<H2><FONT face="Times New Roman">Bottom Line</FONT></H2>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
universal
adoption of RCS is likely quite a while away. But today’s announcement
does
indicate that SMS’s days are numbered and a better messaging future may be
on
the horizon.</FONT></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000">Keep
Smiling,<BR>Janie Degenshein<BR>Happiness isn't having what you want, but
wanting what you already have!<BR>Facilitator of ECHO (Eyes Closed Hearts
Open)<BR>state affiliate board member<BR>President of the senior division
of
the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey<BR>to join the senior
list
serve:<BR>https://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbnj-seniors_nfbnet.org<BR>President
of the Technology division of the National federation of the Blind of New
Jersey<BR>To join the tech div list
serve:<BR>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/njtechdiv_nfbnet.org<BR><BR>NFBNJ
Newsline
co-ordinator<BR>jdegen16@comcast.net<BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><SPAN>_______________________________________________</SPAN><BR><SPAN>NJTechDiv
mailing
list</SPAN><BR><SPAN>NJTechDiv@nfbnet.org</SPAN><BR><SPAN>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/njtechdiv_nfbnet.org</SPAN><BR><SPAN>To
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