A single development compatible with all telco networks
Networks have become a key asset for the development of digital products and services, because the experiences of today and tomorrow are increasingly dependent on connectivity.
In this idea in mind, the telecommunications industry, in its network development, is uniting behind a global initiative led by the GSMA to bring telco capabilities such as 5G connectivity, communications, web3, etc. to the cloud. Until now, each carrier has worked independently. The time has come to work hand in hand, opening up the networks so that service developers can enrich their applications through standardised and interoperable APIs. This initiative creates new opportunities in innovation for experience creators because they will now be able to make a single development compatible with all telco networks.
This means the Open Gateway project will turn networks into future-ready platforms to the benefit of the entire digital ecosystem, users and businesses alike.
A global initiative across the telco industry
Open Gateway is a global initiative of the GSMA and the entire telecommunications industry that aims to transform communications networks into platforms, bringing with it a new wave of innovation.
The opening up of the networks will accelerate the development and growth of new services in Fintech, Digital Identity, Anti-Fraud, Smart Mobility, Gaming, Web3, Metaverse and Communications.
Thus, hyperscalers, aggregators and service developers can offer their customers new value propositions quickly and effectively while enabling telcos to become key players in the range of new digital services.
The telco capabilities that will be available to developers will be consumable through global and standardised telco and network APIs. As they are standardised, developers will only have to produce a single element that will be compatible with all telco networks.
This way, we will be turning our networks into platforms, API-fying them.
So what does API-fying the network mean?
APIfication comes from API. And APIs have been around for many years in computing. An API is an element that allows two different pieces of software to be connected so that they can share information with each other easily and quickly. This saves time, effort and resources for those who use them, who are the developers of services.
Our new network and telco APIs make it possible to connect applications to networks, so they can talk to each other, because they expose our telco capabilities. Thanks to these APIs, it is possible to configure the network on demand, in a standardised and intuitive way, which allows us to enrich existing services and create new ones, improving the experience offered to users. For example, hold a work video call in HD quality, play an online game without interruptions or perform surgeries remotely.
How to start testing new Telco APIs
At Telefónica we have developed a set of standardised, automated, on-demand, real-time and one single line of code APIs to integrate these telco capabilities.
To start testing and develop new use cases, Telefónica Open Gateway is launching its Early Adopter Program.A group of selected service developerscan begin to enrich their telco services (5G connectivity, advanced communications services, web3, etc.). Our APis are available in collaboration with AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Vonage. For more information and to sign up for the programme, we have set up a portal here.