OMA APIs Standardize Access to Unique Resources within Operator Networks
The OMA API program provides standardized interfaces to the service
infrastructure residing within communication networks and on devices.
Focused primarily between the service access layer and generic network
capabilities, OMA API specifications allow operators and other service
providers to expose device capabilities and network resources in an
open and programmable way—to any developer community independent of the
development platform. By deploying OMA APIs, fundamental capabilities
such as SMS, MMS, Location Services, Payment and other core network
assets are now exposed in a standardized way. This reduces development
cost and time-to-market for new applications and services, as well as
simplifying wider deployment of existing applications and services.
- OMA APIs expose the network assets that developers need—no matter what
protocols, platforms or other APIs they use.
- Core network assets must be made available in order to deploy the wide
variety of new applications and services that enter the market every day.
- The OMA set of APIs increases the portability of applications and
services in order to reach the subscriber base of operators and
service providers that deploy OMA APIs.
- As the number of APIs that perform the same functionality proliferate, fragmentation occurs.
This limits developer access to subscribers, and operator and service
providers' choices of development platforms and communities. The OMA API Program,
through standardization, solves this problem.