Rich Communications Services (RCS) were tipped to generate global revenue of $52.2 billion for operators by 2028, as brands are expected to shift towards new advertising channels to boost user engagement, research company Mobilesquared revealed.

In a fresh report, the company said advertisers will transition investments from “ineffective digital banner advertising” to RCS campaigns in the next seven years, as the communication protocol provides “a new channel of engagement that delivers a highly engaging, extremely interactive digital platform right into the hands of consumers”.

Mobilesquared noted RCS will provide safe and fraud-free communication as it is a trusted operator channel which verifies senders prior to message distribution.

The company estimated there will be 700 million RCS users by the end of 2020, with the number set to hit 5 billion by 2028, representing 61 per cent of all smartphone users.

Brands were likely to “waste” more than $917 billion by 2028, if they failed to divert advertising budgets from banner ads to platforms like RCS, Mobilesquared highlighted.