GSMA has announced OneAPI Exchange, a new, flexible technical platform that will deliver network capabilities to mobile apps. This latest phase of the OneAPI global initiative, which facilitates closer collaboration between operators and developers, has been undertaken with leading mobile operators including AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone. OneAPI Exchange will be operated by Apigee.
“The OneAPI Exchange promises to elevate the mobile app experience for consumers,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer of GSMA. “By supporting closer operator-developer relationships and greater cross-carrier interoperability, the platform will lead to seamless access to exciting mobile apps with enhanced features. End users will benefit from operator services they already know and trust, such as billing, messaging and operator identity, embedded within the apps they choose.”
The new initiative incorporates the work undertaken by the Wholesale Application Community (WAC), which was integrated into the GSMA in July 2012. The OneAPI Exchange, which is currently in a working proof of concept form, improves that capability by giving operators the choice of providing developers with either their own customised application programming interfaces (APIs) or standardised APIs. This leads to better flexibility for operators to participate in the OneAPI Exchange programme, according to their own business objectives, while also providing benefits of scale and reach to their developers through API interoperability.
When a developer selects and registers with an operator developer programme, they are able to build applications that utilise that operator’s APIs. The OneAPI Exchange also allows a developer to specify which other operators’ networks they would like their app to work with, so services are not limited to the customers of a single operator. The platform seamlessly maps the APIs used by the app onto those used by the consumer’s operator.
This federated approach enables operators to either customise the services available on their own platforms, while still reaching a mass market, or expose their network capabilities to developers through standardised APIs.
“The OneAPI Exchange is a completely new model for API interoperability that will dramatically simplify and accelerate the development of telco API-powered apps in a global marketplace. We are extremely pleased to be providing a leading edge solution powered by Apigee technology to the GSMA and its mobile operator members, and look forward to many successful deployments in the year ahead,” said Chet Kapoor, CEO of Apigee.
Entelechy Asia 