By: Becky Bracken

Every time someone signs into an app or service using thier Facebook or Gmail credentials, a thousand telecom network execs bite their collective fist. In their view, a mobile number, not a Facebook or Amazon login, should be the portal to the app world.

“Moving up the app value chain” is how it’s referred to in industry jargon, but the magic making it all possible is the smart use of APIs, or application programming interfaces. The goal for operators is pretty straightforward: shift from strictly being providers of communications services to offering a wider array of services that can drive increased revenue, build network traffic and garner crucial loyalty among customers that keeps them coming back for years to come.

However, in order for this idea to become real, apps must be developed to be portable so they can be used across all networks and carriers; an app that only works on a single device from a single carrier isn’t going to cut it. As apps move into the cloud, consumers expect to be able to access their coolest widgets anywhere and from any device, which is why operators need a network-agnostic API platform that can help developers build apps that work across any network or ecosystem. Currently, it’s difficult for developers to work with all the different operators individually, each with its own infrastructure, policies, standards, local regulations, and markets. APIs eliminate the barriers to innovation and the barriers to new, ripe revenue streams.

GSMA's OneAPI Exchange

How can developers be enticed to build the latest apps through an operator’s API? By offering them loads of customers, a solid billing system and network-operator perks like messaging verification. The way to get it done? The GSM Association (GSMA), an organization that represents the interests of mobile operators and believes that the future of app interoperability is the OneAPI Exchange, which was officially launched in February at Mobile World Congress. With commitments from leading carriers such as AT&T, Orange, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom and the promise of a makeover from plain-Jane operator to full-on-Kate-Upton lifestyle service provider, the program bears a closer look.

Neither APIs nor their promise of network monetization are new ideas. “APIs are the foundation of how operators build and launch digital products,” says David Andrzejek, who works in sales and business development at Apigee, the software company behind OneAPI. “APIs allow operators to extend their core systems—network and core applications—to be easily used by their own developers and by partners to build new products and experiences for consumers and enterprises. Today it is very difficult for companies to work with the many different operators required to reach their target market. The OneAPI Exchange gives operators the opportunity to engage directly with companies and brands.”

APIs allow application developers to enhance their latest creations with tried-and-true network-operator functionalism, including billing support, messaging and user-location information. The OneAPI Exchange, brings together network operators and developers and lets each side leverage the other’s strengths. Operators attract the latest apps their customers want and deliver them in a controlled, branded environment—the network. They also monetize valuable assets by attracting the increased network usage that apps inevitably deliver. Developers, in exchange, get cross-carrier access to every customer imaginable.

Here’s how it works, according to the GSMA:

• Step One: Operator 1 registers with the GSMA OneAPI Exchange Architecture and uploads the T&Cs it offers to developers for use of its APIs.
• Step Two: A developer registers with the developer programme of Operator 2.
• Step Three: Once the developer has developed and tested their app, they register to use an API with Operator 2, which implicitly registers the app with the OneAPI Exchange.
• Step Four: To complete the registration the developer agrees to the T&Cs of all the operators (e.g. Operator 1) they would like the app to be able to interoperate with.