CAMARA releases first official batch of APIs

Called ‘Meta-Release Fall24’, this batch contains 25 APIs across 13 sub projects ‘that have been vetted for quality, consistency, and stability through rigorous release management processes.’

It includes ‘stable’ APIs such as Location Verification, Number Verification, One-time Password SMS, Simple Edge Discovery, and SIM Swap, as well as initial versions of new APIs such as Call Forwarding Signal, Carrier Billing Refund, Connectivity Insights (with application profiles), Population Density Data, QoD Provisioning.

It also comes with a ‘Security and Interoperability Profile’ based on OAuth 2.0 and OpenID standards. We’re told the CAMARA community has committed to delivering twice-yearly updates to vetted APIs, in order that network operators can plan the deployment in their networks.

"I am incredibly proud of the entire CAMARA ecosystem—from developers to members and partners—for achieving our community's first Meta Release," said Nathan Rader, Board Chair of CAMARA and VP, Service and Capability Exposure at Deutsche Telekom. "This milestone is a significant step forward in our mission to enable seamless access to telecom network capabilities through open APIs. The global support we've received underscores the industry's focus on / commitment to simplifying API availability across telecom networks and countries."

Per Beming, Chief Standardization Officer, Ericsson added: "Ericsson (including Vonage) are committed to making CAMARA successful, and we are key contributors to the upcoming CAMARA-Meta Release. This release brings the first set of stable APIs to the market, in parallel to new and updated beta-level APIs for market validation. Together with our customers, partners and the CAMRA community, we are excited about the continuing journey of unleashing the innovation potential of open Network APIs enabling the digital transformation of society."

CAMARA certainly seems to have gathered a lot of organisations under its banner since it was initiated in 2021 ‘by a small number of telco operators, vendors and hyperscalers.’ Having officially launched in 2022, it now says the project has grown to include 1100+ contributors and 396 organizations.

The CAMARA fund is composed of ten ‘premium sponsors’ including Accenture, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Orange, Telefonica, Verizon, Vodafone, and T-Mobile, as well as seven ‘general sponsors’ and one ‘associate sponsor’.

The release also states that it is pleased to have been selected as the ‘network API specification location’ for the API venture launched by some of the world's biggest operators last week, including América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, and Verizon, alongside kit vendor Ericsson.

With a mission to foster proper industry coordination and collaboration in developing network APIs, the operators aim to formally establish their new venture by early 2025. Under the proposed structure, Ericsson will control 50%, while the operator members will hold the remaining 50% between them and there is also a standing invitation for any other operators that want to get involved.

Taking these together, it seems after a few years of APIs being touted somewhat vaguely as the key to unlocking new functions on 5G networks, there is growing momentum for the industry to at least get on the same page with regards to launching them out into the wild.

The ultimate point of them is usually framed as a mechanism for operators to unlock new revenue opportunities in a market environment where they struggle to charge a more for connectivity, despite having to shoulder the costs of network upgrades. Whether such a golden goose is generated in the form of network APIs remains to be seen, but the prospects are surely improved by this type of industry wide collaboration, as opposed to everybody going off and doing their own thing.