Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is making it much easier for application developers to unlock the innovation potential in 4G LTE mobile networks by introducing a suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) to accelerate the creation of compelling broadband services to meet consumer and enterprise ever-evolving demands.
Nine ‘New Conversation APIs’ will give developers easy access to communication capabilities in service providers’ IP Multimedia Subsystem, the infrastructure that sits at the heart of 4G LTE and IP networks. These capabilities include high definition voice and video, audio/video conferencing, interactive voice, messaging and call control, which can be used to build services for both consumers and businesses.
APIs are the fundamental components used by web developers in writing applications and support the sharing of data and content between applications. To jumpstart the developer ecosystem Alcatel-Lucent is leveraging its ngConnect program, which brings together service providers and apps developers as well as offering easy access to the APIs, along with a fast prototyping environment provided by the New Conversation API developer portal. The APIs are based on REpresentational State Transfer (REST), a popular, easy-to-use software architecture used to create applications for the Web.
Brian Partridge, vice president of research at Yankee Group said: “Opening the network up in a way that is friendly to web developers creates new retail and wholesale revenue opportunities for telecom operators. By exposing the full breadth of IMS via RESTful APIs, Alcatel-Lucent can offer their core
customer base a new way to create and monetize innovative applications and recoup their investment in IMS infrastructure. In an age of increasing OTT competition, service providers are eager to find innovative ways to add value to the Internet eco-system and this solution is clearly a step in the right
direction.”
Developers quickly embracing benefits of the New Conversation APIs
The New Conversation APIs are being used by application developers to create new or enhanced services they can deliver themselves or through communications service providers. For example:
- Anana has created an app that allows subscribers to convert their last tweet into a speech ringback greeting or initiate a call with multiple participants through their Facebook wall, making group voice or video chat easy
- Camka can now offer a better customer service by replacing costly maintenance travel with faster, more efficient problem resolution through a video assisted maintenance call.
- Aricent has expanded the scope of security alerts for their smart home solution by notifying multiple contacts through video calls when a home intrusion or emergency is detected as well as using alternative means of contact like SMS, e-mail or even social networks like Facebook depending on peoples’ preferences
- Alten, in just four weeks, ported a traditional Intelligent Network (IN) service to a web-based application that provides advanced anonymous call features and call control capabilities.
Dave Tidwell, Chief Operating Officer at Anana said: “The New Conversation APIs enable third party application developers to focus on the creation of rich consumer experiences across a wide range of devices – from mobile phones to tablets to PCs – without having to deal with the complexity of directly interacting with the network. This rapid applications development capability and common interface reduces the time required from years to weeks and allows the service provider to quickly open new revenue streams.”
Sandip Mukerjee, President of Advanced Communications at Alcatel-Lucent said: “Today, no one else in the marketplace is offering service providers what our New Conversation APIs offer. They enable service providers to fast-track 4G innovation – turning IMS into a real engine for the rapid creation of new services. We make it easy to access the rich features supported by service providers and thereby attract more developers. New applications using IMS-based APIs can be built very quickly, in turn allowing the rapid introduction of more services, and a growth in revenue that comes from our customers being able to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.”
