The API-sharing platform builds on the APIs announced under the CAMARA initiative last year
Telefónica’s CEO and GSMA chair introduced the new GSMA Open Gateway standard in the opening session of MWC today. He said it “bonds telcos, the industry, Big Techs and developers to create the digital future together”.
José María Álvarez-Pallete (pictured at MWC), who has a penchant for big announcements stated, “We are at the doors of a new change of era driven by the intersection of telco, computing, AI and Web3”, and that “without telcos there is no future”.
He said the digital era “is going to require a radical evolution and a platform that offers simplicity above the complexity of our businesses…GSMA Open Gateway is that platform.”
This industry initiative is designed to enable the sharing and federation of open, standardised APIs to provide interoperable access to operators’ networks for developers and hyperscalers.
20 signatories of the MoU
Álvarez-Pallete said support for the Open Gateway was in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by 20 companies, with the capacity to reach 3.8 billion people. Initially, there are eight standardised APIs under CAMARA.
This is an initiative presented at MWC 2022, in partnership with the Linux Foundation, to develop the APIs needed to launch GSMA Open Gateway now. “This is just the beginning but gaining traction fast”, he added.
The initial signatories are: America Movil, AT&T, Axiata, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, KDDI, KT, Liberty Global, MTN, Orange, Singtel, Swisscom, STC, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, TIM, Verizon and Vodafone.
Over the next 12 months the initiative will run Early Adopter Programmes for developers and promote GSMA Open Gateway APIs via developer channels, including Microsoft events such as Ignite and Build; and AWS’ re:Invent.
Find more information about Open Gateway activities at MWC here.