Service exposure - key to network relevance and innovation

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Telecom services have long been confined to a controlled, optimized and interoperable domain, governed by several strict KPIs at the domain/network-function level.

In the web space there is now explosive growth in innovative applications and services that require a network that is application/service-aware in order to perform well. This awareness can be created in two ways:

* Through an explicit interaction, using APIs, between the application providing the service and the communication/connectivity provider that owns the network assets.

* By automated optimization triggered by a network that understands the service.

In both cases the network is service-aware.

Operators have a large set of capabilities, beyond SMS and payments, which can be exposed. Examples are communication, connectivity and M2M. Two main factors that have changed drastically in recent years affect service exposure for operators: the available technology and the market situation.

Regarding available technology, traditional network capabilities are being made available more and more over easily accessible APIs. Advances such as HTML5 give reach to developers without telecoms knowledge.

When it comes to the market situation, an important insight is that there is no single killer API. With operator interests widening to the enterprise market, it is clear that this killer-API paradigm will be replaced by composites of operator, partner and/or web capabilities that make the network more relevant.

By taking an active role within service exposure, operators have the possibility to continue improving their relevance in the changing telecommunications landscape.