Unlocking New Potential Business Growth through Collaborative Open API
API business provides lucrative growth opportunity for Telco Operator such as Telkomsel to pursue through collaboration in Open API initiatives.
This article is composed in collaboration with Ilham Nur Pratama and Chris Pradana
1. Background
In conjunction with fast-evolving digital transformation, Telco capabilities are moving away from hardware-based to API-based and beyond. API is pivotal to operate business and corporate sustainability. It is widely accepted as common method to integrate various systems across domains.
As quoted from Gartner,
“We live in an API economy, a set of business models and channels based on secure access of functionality and exchange of data. APIs make it easier to integrate and connect people, places, systems, data, things, and algorithms, create new user experiences, share data and information, authenticate people and things, enable transactions and algorithms, leverage third-party algorithms, and create new product/services and business models(1)”
Dawning of this new era, Global System for Mobile Communications Association hereinafter GSMA as the global community of Mobile Network Operator (MNO) with Linux Foundation has initiated GSMA Open Gateway as a framework of common APIs and CAMARA project, to enable universal access to Telco capabilities, attract new potential customers (e.g. application developers), and unlock new business growth by simplifying network/ backend capabilities with APIs.
2. Understanding GSMA Open Gateway
GSMA Open Gateway is a framework established by GSMA to promote universal standards for multivendor multidomain application developers, telco operators, and tech player to simplify the integration. Within the realm of bolstering integration and interoperability, the GSMA has initiated the Open Gateway, encompassing the Open Federation APIs which includes aspects like the East West Federation & Interconnection. This is grounded on the GSMA Operator Platform Specifications and Agreement Templates. Concurrently, the CAMARA standardization zeroes in on the Open Service (Northbound) Common Network APIs, accessible via the CAMARA GitHub and GSMA Agreement Templates.
CAMARA is an open-source project established by GSMA to transform network operators to service enablement platforms, simplifying the complexity of telco capabilities and open accessible backend capabilities as APIs. GSMA members across countries collaborate to create standards to define, develop, and test user friendly APIs to expose agreed telco capabilities (in adherence with CAMARA standard). It is intended to open telco capabilities to be exposed globally, not only consumed by other network operators but also to be consumed by other industry/sector across countries. It should also be flexible to allow local data processing, consent, privacy laws and controls. The heightened standardization and interoperability propelled by OpenAPIs from CAMARA, TMFORUM, and GSMA pave the way for seamless communication across diverse systems and platforms. Additional benefits span from simplified integrations due to well-defined interfaces to the expansion of a broader ecosystem supported by these standards, promoting smooth data exchanges and fostering collaboration.
As initial set of APIs, CAMARA project has developed specification for following APIs:
1. SIM Swap
2. Quality on Demand (QoD)
3. OTP Validation
4. Number Verification
5. Identity and Consent Management
6. Home Devices QoD
7. Edge Cloud
8. Device Status
9. Device Location
10. Device Identifier
11. Carrier Billing Checkout
12. Blockchain Public Address
3. GSMA Open Gateway Architecture
There are four actors involved in GSMA Open Gateway ecosystem:
a. End User: consumer/user of application, can be enterprise/retail
b. Application Developer: developer who works on backend integration for CAMARA APIs.
c. Aggregator: hides complexity and provides services (CAMARA comply) to application developers. It can be hyperscaler or designated operator. Aggregator itself has three main components:
- Telco finder: a service that determines which operator a user belongs to
- Authserver: OAuth 2.0 & OpenID authentication server, which issues authorization code and access token to applications
- Telco router: a proxy that routes API calls to appropriate operator
d. Operator: MNO/ Communication Service Provider (CSP) consists of four components:
- Authserver: OAuth 2.0 server issues token to aggregator
- API Gateway: gateway for exposing APIs in a secure way
- OAM API: operation APIs
- CAMARA API: service APIs
4. GSMA Open Gateway General Flow
Basic general flow for GSMA Open Gateway to enable all users across the countries could access MNO APIs as follows:
1. User of backend applications consume the aggregator service to request some informations from API. This requires an authorization code and access token which will be generated from the designated operator.
2. The aggregator will request the information from backend user application to Telco Finder, to find which telco operator this request should be forwarded to.
3. Telco Finder will inform the designated request to request an authorization code and access token to use the API.
4. Aggregator will start to request the authorization code and access token to the telco operator.
5. Telco operator will check whether there is consent that is needed to be passed to customer. If it is, the telco operator will forward the consent which will be forwarded by the aggregator to request information from the consumer about the consent.
6. Telco operator will forward the authorization code and the access token which can be used by the user backend applications. This code will be translated by the Aggregator to ensure the security for each party. Aggregator will also pass through the authorization code and the access token to customer backend application.
7. From the generated authorization code and access token, Aggregator will forward the API request from user backend application to telco operator regarding to certain CAMARA services.
8. Telco operator will response the request from aggregator and aggregator will pass forward to the user backend applications as the response that they need.
9. Application backend and user receive API Response from Aggregator
5. Unlocking New Business Growth
Interoperability is the primary benefit provided by GSMA Open Gateway; it will break the communication barrier among multivendor multidomain parties. It enables us to connect seamlessly to unlock new potentials such as:
a. Enable exposure to global competitive market.
b. Leverage telco 5G journey to be equipped with API-based connectivity supporting many use-cases with diverse systems, networks, devices across domain and geographies. (e.g., eGovernment, Advance KYC, Global Digital Marketplace, Fleet Management, Smart Cities, Farming, Logistic and Supply Chain)
c. Stepping stone for NaaS (Network-as-a-Service) ecosystem where APIs connectivity is dispensable.
Based on Straitsresearch, the Open API market expects to grow up to 15.4 billion USD per 2030 globally and 1.4 billion USD in Asia Pacific Regional (Straits Research, 2022). This shows that Open API is widely consumed by the entire world, and it is necessary for every industry that could expose their API functionality to gain a beneficial advantage. This strengthens by Postman which state that per 2020, the number of API hit per day more than 17 million hit (Bettendorf, 2020). CAMARA APIs is already used by 250 members across the countries, these members later will be interacting with Telkomsel APIs if they want to access information about Telkomsel Consumer (The Linux Foundation, 2023).
6. Use Cases
CAMARA provides a certain set of APIs which can be implemented by Telco to leverage their business to gain more advantages. From the set of APIs provided by CAMARA, some APIs are developed to equip following use cases:
1. Advance Know Your Customer (KYC)
To ensure a user of an application, developers connect their authentication to Civil Registration Population API to check whether a person is eligible to register. This sometimes open a slit to a fraudster, since the mobile number which is used to register sometimes different with the mobile number in user’s device. Leveraging CAMARA SIM Swap and Number Verification could verified the national id number from Civil Registration Population API with real user mobile number.
2. Ride Hailing Services
Every ride hailing services in Indonesia already consume Location Service API but the integrated API are isolated in local provider, so global Ride Hailing Provider should have integration with each local location provider API each time they want to initiate new business in new country. By merely following CAMARA and ensuring the destination countries have telcos who have already implemented CAMARA standard, there is no need to locally partnered with local API provider.
3. Global Digital Marketplace
Carrier billing checkout is one of breakthroughs for telco company which enabling payment through their digital assets which is telco credit balance. To use this service, each application which requires payment using carrier billing should integrate to each operator to enrich their direct carrier billing. By leveraging CAMARA Standards for carrier billing the application can enter any mobile number which has implemented CAMARA to enable carrier billing as their payment method.
7. Telkomsel Adoption
The obvious question will be, how can a Telco Operator such as Telkomsel pursues and taps on benefit of API Business?
Telkomsel currently offers a suite of business APIs, catering to several local enterprises through various channels. Recognizing the potential of a broader global footprint, the Telkomsel API Hub is keen on adopting international Open API standards, including CAMARA and others.
Leading aggregators in the market have already commenced integrating the CAMARA standard, with an aspiration to bring together international operator APIs under one platform. Businesses outside of the local region have the possibility to collaborate with affiliated operators either directly or through these aggregators. This approach aligns with models employed by leading alliances in the industry. At the same time, local enterprises can leverage a centralized hub for their integrations.
By actively engaging in innovative projects and standards, Telkomsel hopes to foster further innovation and attract a diverse range of external developers and partners. Adopting such standards not only makes collaboration more efficient but also accelerates business initiatives, ensuring a streamlined and coherent approach for all stakeholders involved.
To participate in GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) February 2024, Telkomsel collaborates with other OpCos to pilot the establishment of CAMARA ecosystem focusing on SIM Swap development. Telkomsel plans to leverage and enhance its existing API Marketplace with required capability to adhere to CAMARA standard and ready to reach beyond, exposing APIs to the region.
8. Conclusion
As this collaborative initiative is still in conceptual and experimental phase, there are several strategies and aspects that requires further discussion and settlement from all contributors, particularly on its adoption across countries. Further assessment on technicality and non-functionality aspects (e.g. latency, consent management, security, privacy laws, and control), as well as business models and API monetization on interoperability among stakeholders need to be settled as well. Nonetheless, Telkomsel as a leading operator in Indonesia must take this opportunity as a pioneer endorsed by global leading Telco operators. Active participation in Open API initiative is also serve as stepping stone towards 5G NaaS ecosystem in global competitive market.
