Telstra announces Australia’s first release of Camara API

Global telco Telstra has announced Australia’s first release of Camara application programming interfaces (APIs) to Aduna Global, enabling approved businesses to embed trusted, network-level network APIs into approved apps.

Aduna Global is a joint venture between leading telecom operators and comms tech firm Ericsson, dedicated to enabling developers worldwide to accelerate innovation by leveraging networks to their full potential via common network APIs. Partners include AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefónica, T-Mobile, Verizon, Vodafone and Telstra.

By combining network APIs from multiple operators globally under a unified platform based on the Camara open source project, driven by the GSMA and the Linux Foundation, the Aduna team say they can provide a standardised platform to foster collaboration, enhance user experiences and drive industry growth.

Telstra was one of the founding partners of Aduna, and has now become the first Australian telco to launch an API on the global platform. By working with global partners and adopting common standards, it believes it can deliver more value to customers, making networks more programmable and more accessible in a secure way than their traditional form.

The launch of the two APIs – Number Verification and SIM Swap – is designed to give businesses practical tools to improve customer experience, while laying the foundation for what Telstra says will be new models of innovation and collaboration – at a local and global scale.

The two APIs aim to help prevent account takeovers, safeguard sensitive information and reduce friction for users.

Number Verification automatically checks that a phone number and device match an account. Working in the background, it is said to be more secure than an SMS one-time password – without the friction – and because the network is doing the check, it makes it harder for scammers to intercept, as well as easier for customers to pass through quickly. It can also be combined with other secure network signals, such as device location, for extra protection against identity theft and scams.

For its part, SIM Swap detects recent SIM changes on a mobile number to help prevent account takeovers. If a SIM is swapped – a common step in fraud attempts – apps can step up authentication and block risky actions, such as payments or password resets. This can help prevent account takeovers by detecting threats early. At the same time, it reduces the need for manual reviews and recovery processes, lowering operational costs while enhancing overall security.

“Every time a customer waits for a one-time password or worries about fraud, there is a friction we can help remove,” said Kim Krogh Andersen, group executive of products and technology at Telstra. “Our new Network APIs – Number Verification and SIM Swap – can help make authentication faster and safer, and support businesses to better protect customers from potential fraud.

“These APIs give businesses practical tools to improve customer experience, while laying the foundation for new models of innovation and collaboration – at a local and global scale,” he added.

The launch is also said to mark another step forward in Telstra’s network-as-a-product vision, under the Connected Future 30 strategy, enabling partners to build innovative services across sectors such as banking, fintech, government, health and e-commerce.