Mobile networks sit at the centre of our digital world, yet for most businesses, accessing the capabilities these networks offer has been a source of frustration.
Integrating directly with mobile operators is challenged by fragmented systems, inconsistent interfaces, and the painful reality of negotiating with each operator separately across every market you wanted to serve.
GSMA enables the way forward
GSMA Open Gateway changes this dynamic. By exposing network capabilities through standardised APIs, it allows developers to build applications that interact directly with mobile networks, without needing to understand the complex infrastructure behind them. GSMA Fusion goes a step further, helping enterprises develop APIs that specifically addresses their needs.
Rather than enterprises having to adapt their plans to whatever a network happens to offer, Fusion flips the model. The programme enables sectors such as automotive, aviation, fintech, manufacturing, media and entertainment to define what they need from their mobile networks – latency, reliability, security, identity, location, or prioritisation, across multiple markets.
How is the GSMA Fusion program better than building “in-house”?
There may be cases where using proprietary APIs is a necessity. However, the integration challenges, need for operator-by-operator roll out and potential vendor lock-in issues means working with open, standardised APIs offers significant advantages.
Speed to market
Standardised APIs have been crucial in enabling developers to deploy solutions and applications consistently across markets, while enabling easier onboarding and application testing.
Without this standardisation, a business must negotiate, integrate, and maintain separate technical relationships with every operator in every market. This can typically take months or years, while competitors and innovator move at speed. The era of pilots and proof-of-concepts leading to a long deployment period is over. Standardised network APIs are enabling enterprise to go from idea to revenue generation or value realisation in a fraction of the time.
Cost efficiency
The fragmentation of proprietary integrations creates significant technical debt. Businesses that build on standardised foundations are able to drive growth without the compounding cost of maintaining bespoke integrations. Developer, testing and trial times are reduced, operational costs are reduced, and future integrations are easier and faster to adopt.
Global reach without global complexity
More than 72 mobile operator groups – representing 284 networks and almost 80% of mobile connections across the world – participate in the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. To date 52 commercial launches have taken place. A business engaging with Fusion gains structured access to this entire ecosystem through a single, coordinated process — something no in-house team could replicate at comparable cost or speed.
Influence over the roadmap
Perhaps the most under valued benefit is that Fusion gives enterprises a formal voice in shaping which APIs get built. For example:
- Tata Elxsi has called on mobile network operators to standardise Quality on Demand APIs for the automotive and drone industries;
- FICO called for more markets to support Scam Signal, reducing fraud and encouraging investment in developing regions;
- Skydio requested support from mobile network operators to aid how drones can better support emergency service first responders.
These are not passive API consumers, they are businesses shaping what the network of the future looks like.
How does the Fusion process work?
The Fusion programme offers a clear and defined process, built around a structured mechanism called a Statement of Requirements. Here is how it works in practice:
Step 1: Engage
A business or industry body approaches GSMA Fusion with a connectivity challenge or opportunity. The team works with the enterprise to understand their specific needs — whether that’s guaranteed quality of service for live streaming, real-time identity verification for financial transactions, or low-latency connectivity for drone operations.
Step 2: Define
The enterprise, supported by Fusion, articulates its requirements formally through a Statement of Requirements. This document sets out what network capabilities are needed, at what performance level, and across which markets.
Step 3: Align
Enterprises and partners contribute real-world insights through Statements of Requirements to advance API standardisation. Fusion then brings these requirements directly to the operator community and the CAMARA open-source project, ensuring the API meets requirement and specifications.
Step 4: Build and deploy
CAMARA defines the APIs — such as Number Verification, Location Verification, and Quality on Demand. Open Gateway then ensures consistency across markets, supports consent and capacity management, and enables monetisation. Developers can test APIs in sandboxes and deploy consistently across every participating operator network.
Step 5: Scale globally
Because APIs are built to an agreed open standard, a solution built once works across all participating networks — what the GSMA describes as “write once, deploy everywhere.”
To find out more about GSMA Fusion and how to participate, visit our website here.