In a significant move towards streamlining digital innovation, South Korea’s leading mobile operators – SK Telecom (SKT), KT, and LG Uplus – have agreed to establish a unified ‘Network Open API’ standard. This collaboration aims to lower the entry barrier for developers and reduce the time and complexity involved in application development.
Prior to this agreement, each telco provided its own set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Developers and enterprise customers faced the challenge of integrating external applications across different networks. With this new standardization, they can now create applications that function seamlessly across all three operator networks, which will bolster digital innovation by aligning the domestic telecom ecosystem with global specifications.
“Through this MOU, we will be able to provide various services based on common network APIs for both domestic and overseas markets,” said Lee Jong-sik, head of KT Network Research Institute. “We will promote technology development and standardization to support various customer requirements such as service quality, authentication, and security enhancements.”
These unified efforts come in the wake of the Korean operators’ earlier initiative to establish six network API standards reconciling personal information and mobile financial security. The Korea Information and Communications Technology Association facilitated this initiative.
This step towards standardization aligns closely with global efforts such as the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative, which envisions a framework of universal network APIs to provide developers with universal access to operator networks. Another influencing factor is the Linux Foundation’s Camara Project, an open-source movement aimed at defining, developing, and testing APIs. Since early 2023, KT has actively engaged with the Open Gateway initiative.
