Network API Interoperability: The Role of GSMA Open Gateway and CAMARA
By PAiCore Technology ● 4 min read
As mobile operators expose more network capabilities through Network APIs, interoperability is becoming one of the most important requirements for the telecom API ecosystem.
An application should not need a completely different integration for every operator.
This is the challenge that initiatives such as GSMA Open Gateway and CAMARA are designed to address.
What Is Network API Interoperability?
Network API interoperability means that developers and enterprises can consume network capabilities through consistent API interfaces, even when the underlying operator networks differ.
Without common standards, an application integrating with multiple operators could encounter different:
- API interfaces
- Authentication mechanisms
- Integration processes
- Network architectures
A standardised approach changes the model:
Application → Standardised Network API → Operator Network
GSMA Open Gateway provides an industry framework for exposing mobile network capabilities through common APIs, while CAMARA, hosted by the Linux Foundation, develops open API specifications behind many of these capabilities.
The GSMA Open Gateway ecosystem includes APIs covering use cases such as Number Verification, SIM Swap, device information, location services, and Quality on Demand.
Why Standards Do Not Solve Everything
Standardising the northbound API does not remove the complexity of the operator’s underlying network.
Different operators may continue to operate combinations of:
SS7/MAP | Diameter | HLR/AuC | HSS | AAA
This creates an important architectural requirement:
The standardised API layer must be able to interact reliably with existing telecom signalling environments.
This is where a Network API Gateway becomes important.
The Role of a Network API Gateway
A Network API Gateway acts as an interworking layer between modern API applications and telecom network infrastructure.
Conceptually:
Application → HTTP/REST → Network API Gateway → SS7/MAP / Diameter → Network
The gateway can translate API requests into the appropriate telecom signalling transactions and correlate responses back to the API layer.
The PAiCore Network API Gateway is designed for this role, providing multi-protocol interworking between HTTP/REST applications and telecom protocols including SS7/MAP and Diameter.
Its event-driven architecture and transaction correlation support asynchronous telecom signalling workflows.
The documented deployment has been validated at up to 9,000 transactions per second under sustained load testing.
From Standardised APIs to Interoperable Networks
GSMA’s OPG.10 Open Gateway Technical Realisation Guidelines provide implementation guidance for MNOs, service aggregators, and technology partners involved in deploying and using GSMA Open Gateway. The current 2026 guidance includes areas such as API call routing, onboarding, service consumption, consent, and operational integration.
The direction is therefore becoming clearer:
Standardise the API experience.
Preserve operator network flexibility.
Use interworking infrastructure to connect the two.
This separation is important:
Standardised APIs northbound.
Existing telecom signalling southbound.
A reliable gateway connecting the two.
For operators, this means existing network infrastructure can remain an important part of the architecture while modern applications gain access through standard API interfaces.
For developers, the benefit is abstraction: they can consume network capabilities without needing to understand every underlying telecom signalling protocol.
PAiCore Network API Gateway
The PAiCore Network API Gateway provides multi-protocol interworking between REST/HTTP, SS7/MAP, and Diameter and supports CAMARA-aligned Network API use cases including Location Retrieval, Location Verification, Geofencing Subscriptions, and Number Verification. It is designed around an event-driven architecture and supports carrier-grade deployment capabilities including high availability, load balancing, and fault tolerance.
Explore the Product
Learn more about the architecture, capabilities, Network API use cases, and deployment options:
Explore the PAiCore Network API Gateway →
The Network API Gateway is also part of PAiCore’s Signaling & Geolocation portfolio.
Explore the Open-Source Ecosystem
PAiCore’s Resources hub lists the Network API Gw Repository among its open-source projects, alongside other telecom signalling components.
Developers, telecom engineers, and system integrators can explore the PAiCore open-source ecosystem and follow the available projects through the PAiCore GitHub organisation:
Note: The public GitHub organisation currently does not display public repositories, so the exact Network API Gateway repository URL should be added here once PAiCore provides/opens the specific repository.
Standards & References
GSMA Open Gateway
GSMA Open Gateway →
GSMA Open Gateway provides the broader industry framework for exposing mobile network capabilities through standardised APIs.
GSMA Open Gateway API Descriptions
GSMA Open Gateway API Descriptions →
The API portfolio provides descriptions of standardised Network API capabilities.
CAMARA Project
CAMARA Project→
CAMARA is the Linux Foundation open-source project focused on developing and testing standardised telco Network APIs.
GSMA OPG.10
GSMA OPG.10 – Open Gateway Technical Realisation Guidelines →
OPG.10 provides technical realisation guidance for stakeholders implementing and using GSMA Open Gateway.
Making Network APIs Work Across Real-World Networks
Network API interoperability is not simply about defining common APIs.
It is about creating the infrastructure that allows those APIs to work with the diverse telecom networks underneath.
Standardised APIs make network capabilities easier to consume.
Interworking infrastructure makes those APIs practical across real-world telecom environments.
And the Network API Gateway provides the bridge between the two.
The future of Network APIs depends not only on standardisation—but on how effectively those standards connect with the networks already in place.