Telstra makes Aduna ‘appy

• Telstra is one of the founding telco partners at network API aggregator Aduna
• The Australian operator has released two APIs to the developer community via Aduna
• Now, though, a broader collaboration is needed involving all of Australia’s network operators

Telstra has released two security-focused APIs to the developer community via Aduna, the global network API aggregator in which the Australian telco is one of the founding investors.

In a post on LinkedIn, Simon Osmond, the operator’s product executive & group owner for TelstraDev, OpenAPIs and sports (what a bonza job title!), stated that the release of the operator’s Number Verification and SIM Swap Camara-developed network APIs via Aduna is a “big step forward” that will help provide greater security and a better experience for Australians. 

Through Aduna, “we’re making key parts of our network available as APIs, so verified developers can build new experiences on top of our infrastructure,” Osmond wrote. 

As a reminder, Aduna is the network API aggregator joint venture set up by Ericsson, which has a 50% stake, along with a group of telcos, including Telstra, that between them own the other half of the company. The company was formally established in July but has been active since late last year.  

In particular, in the case of Number Verification, he stated that the development of applications using that network API would provide a more secure way of verifying users for transactions: One-time passwords (OTPs), delivered via SMS/text, are “meant to keep us safe but too often they slow us down or leave us exposed to scams,” he wrote. 

“For developers, businesses and anyone who’s ever been frustrated by clunky logins, it’s a game-changer. These APIs let apps verify your identity directly through the mobile network – silently, securely and in the background. No more waiting for codes or worrying about them being intercepted,” he continued. 

“Number Verification checks that your phone number and device match your account, using the network itself – so you can skip the SMS code and get on with your day. SIM Swap detects if a SIM card has recently changed on your number, helping stop account takeovers before they start. For businesses, this means fewer abandoned sign-ups, stronger fraud protection, and a smoother experience for customers,” he added. 

The move ties in with “Telstra’s Connected Future 30 ambition – unlocking new value from our network that meets real customer needs,” stated Osmond. “Through Aduna Global, we’re making key parts of our network available as APIs so verified developers can build new experiences on top of our infrastructure. These are the first two releases of many APIs to come as we turn the network into a programmable layer for innovation,” added the Telstra executive. 

It should also be noted that Telstra isn’t limiting its network API work to its involvement in and with Aduna. Its network APIs are also available via its own developer portal and the operator is also working, through one of its specialist units, with Nokia, which is promoting its own Network as Code platform for API exposure.. 

Telstra’s muru-D Labs, a “hub for incubating ideas, products and technologies”, is providing access to a select mix of live and simulated network APIs on Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal, which is “designed to make it easier for developers to build, test and deploy new applications that securely tap into Telstra’s advanced network capabilities,” according to Nokia. The collaboration will “focus on real-world use cases across industries, such as managing network traffic during large events, improving network observability and prioritising critical services,” the vendor added in this announcement made in June.  

It all sounds great, of course, but as we’ve learned over the past year or so in particular, the developer community doesn’t get too excited if just one operator in any given market is making network APIs available – developers want to develop applications that will work across a market’s entire mobile operator ecosystem in order to get scale and to only have to develop the application once. 

And as was pointed out in TelecomTV’s recent free-to-download DSP Leaders publication, the 21-page Network APIs Market Opportunity Report, scale is still an issue, with only about 10 markets in the world currently boasting the coordinated mobile network coverage worthy of developer engagement, according to Evan Conroy, director of partnerships at Trulioo, which provides online identity verification services to businesses. 

So what of Australia’s other telcos? Optus has unveiled its own API Connect platform with Vonage (which is part of the Ericsson empire and naturally has close ties with Aduna), but it doesn’t appear to have launched the same APIs as Telstra and is not currently an Aduna partner. 

Aduna is trying to broker that all-important countrywide collaboration, though: On its own recent LinkedIn post, Aduna noted that it is “forging close ties with the mobile network operators in Australia and as part of our global expansion” and that its chief commercial officer (CCO), Peter Arbitter, “met with the teams at Optus, TPG Telecom and Telstra to discuss all the exciting developments with network APIs. Huge thanks to everyone for a collaborative and productive meeting and we look forward to building out opportunities in Australia!”

For more about network APIs, check out TelecomTV’s free-to-download recently published Network APIs Market Opportunity Report and our dedicated Network APIs channel. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV