Chilean mobile industry promotes GSMA Open Gateway with three network services focused on improving digital security

By GSMA

This is an automated translation of the original press release issued in Spanish

November 19, 2024, Santiago de Chile: Consolidating its leadership role in Latin America's digital landscape, Chile is moving forward with GSMA Open Gateway, the mobile industry's global initiative to simplify the development of applications and services. Within the framework of the 1st INACAP Technology Summit, operators Claro, Entel and Telefónica announced the progress of their API (Application Programming Interface) proposal and discussed how these tools will drive new business cases and alliances in the local ecosystem.

The GSMA Open Gateway is a standard through which mobile operators make available to developers a range of network functions that are used to build applications and services. By uniting operators from around the world, the initiative facilitates the design of digital products capable of working seamlessly across all devices, regardless of country or operator. This is done through single access points, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which act as gateways to information about network capabilities. The APIs are available through the CAMARA repository, an open source project of the GSMA and the Linux Foundation.

At a global level, the first phase of the GSMA Open Gateway has focused on APIs geared towards digital security. In line with this trend, the three APIs developed in Chile are SIM SWAP, which allows for the verification of recent changes to a SIM card; Device Location, which provides precise information on the location of a device; and Device Status, which reveals whether a device is roaming and in which country. By providing key information in real time, these APIs are instrumental in detecting and preventing fraud in financial transactions, which is why banks and fintechs are among the first vertical clients interested.

Tristán Riquelme, Strategy and Products Manager, Claro companies, highlighted: “The work with GSMA Open Gateway represents a significant step for the development and innovation of digital ecosystems, with an impact on companies, software developers and telecommunications companies. It is a task that we have promoted together with our parent company, América Móvil, with visible results with six APIs and launches in Brazil and Argentina, among others. We are excited about this project because it is a step forward for our clients, companies in sectors such as banking, fintech, the public sector, transportation or logistics, who will have access, for example, to new solutions for fraud prevention or identity authentication.”

“The Open Gateway initiative represents a significant opportunity for the telecommunications industry, allowing operators to open their networks to developers, facilitating the creation of innovative applications and improving operational efficiency. Entel, in its 60 years of history, has been dedicated to offering comprehensive solutions to its customers that go beyond traditional telecommunications services. This initiative in particular seeks to transform entire sectors by allowing more secure and efficient access to networks,” said Entel.

“GSMA Open Gateway is a global initiative of the telco sector that aims to transform communications networks into future-ready platforms. In Chile, we continue to collaborate with the rest of the operators in the development of Open Gateway, a concept that the Group has been promoting since the beginning of 2023. We are aligned with the development plan that the country is carrying out, with a focus on launching anti-fraud and online identity services. At the company, we have been making progress for a long time in our internal transformation to make Open Gateway a reality, which will allow us to strengthen the solutions that the digital world today demands from the productive sector,” said Rodrigo Rivera, Regional Manager of Digital Services, Movistar Empresas.

“GSMA Open Gateway is making steady progress in Latin America, with operators in all countries in the region, representing more than 90% of total users, actively participating in the initiative. With Claro, Entel and Telefónica, Chile is joining this global effort that drives innovation and enables new opportunities for the development of digital services,” concluded Alejandro Adamowicz, Director of Technology and Strategy for Latin America, GSMA.

Since its launch at MWC Barcelona 2023, more than 66 mobile operator groups, representing 278 networks and three-quarters of the world’s mobile connections, are now part of the GSMA Open Gateway alongside the world’s leading technology companies. In Latin America, Brazil and Argentina have already launched their first API portfolios and the GSMA is leading the implementation in 4 other countries.