The What's New

Notification of API Exchange update

Tuesday 11th July 2017

This release will not impact the operation of the API Exchange services, except for a small number of existing developer.

Please monitor your services carefully and if you see any issues contact us immediately.

 

Release Details

Release date Tuesday 11th July 2017
Release type Major
Developer impact Low
Expected developer action

In certain circumstances, for regulatory reasons, if an Indian MSISDN is received by the discovery service outside of India, it will be redirected to the Indian Local discovery instance.  If the HTTP status code 302 is received, the application should follow the redirect.

Service provider can provide the optional parameter (correlation_id) in discovery to uniquely identify the request.
Release summary

Unique Credentials

Once the release is live individual MNOs will be set to “UNIQUE” which means that any new applications will have unique credentials per MNO per application. All existing credentials remain unchanged. MNOs may choose to move all apps over to “UNIQUE” credentials but that requires a detailed communication with the impacted SPs to ensure business continuity.

Correlation ID

An optional extra request parameter - correlation_id has been added to the discovery call. correlation_id can be used to uniquely identify and trace the call.

Sample request

curl -X POST -H "Authorization: XXXXX" -H "Cache-Control: no-cache"  -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" -d 'MSISDN=MSISDN&correlation_id=qwessafsdfd12334' "https://discover.mobileconnect.io/{dev-org}/v2/discovery?Redirect_URL=redirect-url

The discovery response is updated to include the correlation_id in the response.

Sample response

   {
  "ttl": 1497780292,
  "response": {
    "client_id": "XXX",
    "client_secret": "XXX",
    "serving_operator": "operator",
    "country": "India",
    "currency": "Rupee",
    "client_name": "apigee_test_3",
    "apis": {
      "operatorid": {
        "link": [
          {
            "href": "link",
            "rel": "authorization"
          },
          {
            "href": "link",
            "rel": "token"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "correlation_id": "qwessafsdfd12334",
  "subscriber_id": "encrypted MSISDN"
}

The discovery error response is also updated to include correlation_id

Sample response

{
  "error": "Not_Found_Entity",
  "description": "Operator not supported for the MSISDN supplied",
  "correlation_id": "qwessafsdfd12334r"
}

The correlation_id, stored in the analytics server, allows retrieval of the call details using the correlation_id.

UI Flows

UI-Discovery redirect flow now includes the correlation_id.

Pre- requisites: MSISDN POST discovery call should include correlation_id.

Sample redirect

redirecturl?correlation_id=qwessafsdfd12334r&mcc_mnc=mcc_mnc

Indian numbers redirect

This resolves the inconsistent behaviour of MSISDN POST and UI MSISDN flow for Indian numbers landing in Global Discovery Node (GDN). Before the change MSISDN POST returns success and UI MSISDN fails.

Changes have been made to process the Indian number discovery in the Indian Local Discovery Node (LDN) even if the discovery requests lands in GDN. When the Indian number lands in GDN the request is redirected to LDN with HTTP status code 302 and ldnsessionid for both UI MSISDN and POST MSISDN flows. Once the request reaches LDN the usual flow continues.

IP Discovery Performance Improvement

Changes done to add the IP based response into inline memory cache to improve the IP based discovery call. IP based discovery tries to retrieve the response from in memory and tries to retrieve from database only if the cached response is not present. This is an internal code change will not have any impact.

API Exchange update

Friday 12th May 2017

The API Exchange has been updated with the following changes:

Release date Wednesday 10th may 2017
Release type Major
Developer impact Moderate Impact. Backward Compatible
Expected developer action
  • Developer Apps using the description from error object can now directly present it to end user.
  • Developer Apps can now rely on ttl from the Discovery response.
  • Developer Apps can use X-Redirect: APP header in case of an unsupported operator to skip the UI flow.
    Release summary
    1. Expired ttl on discovery response is renewed on new discovery request.
    2. Discovery UI flow: “Remember me” of the same number multiple times is now fixed and shown only once.
    3. Operator not discovered message has changed:

      previously

      {
  "error": "Not_Found_Entity",
  "description": "We could not find your operator based on the MSISDN supplied"
}

      now

      {
  "error": "Not_Found_Entity",
  "description": "Operator not supported for the MSISDN supplied"
}
    4. Allow Redirect error messages to the App without UI error notification in the case of "operator not supported".
    5. Support added for charset=ISO-8859-1 with Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded for MSISDN post.

    Sandbox update

    Friday 12th May 2017

    The Developer Portal Sandbox has been updated with the following changes:

    Release date Thursday 11th May 2017
    Release type Minor
    Developer impact Minor
    Expected developer action None
    Release summary The sandbox discovery api now covers a new parameter, X-Redirect that makes it easier for native apps to handle the discovery UI. This is documented here

    Developer Portal update

    Wednesday 10th May 2017

    The Developer Portal has been updated with the following changes:

    Release date Wednesday 10th May 2017
    Type Minor
    Impact Minor
    Expected developer action None
    Summary
    • The discovery documentation now covers a new parameter, X-Redirect that makes it easier for native apps to handle the discovery UI.
    • The application details page has been re-designed to make it easier to navigate and to show the content more clearly
    • Improvements to the discovery documentation covering the use of Accept: application/json
    • Non-verified accounts are now removed after 1 month
    • The token revocation documentation has now been removed as it is not covered by the Mobile Connect specification.

    Notification of forthcoming API Exchange update

    Wednesday 10th May 2017

    Please note the following changes in the forthcoming release.

    • Operator not supported error message

      The Discovery error response has been updated to distinguish between a “MSISDN not found” and an “operator not supported” error. This give the developer an opportunity to accurately inform the user of the specific error condition and guide the user to alternative authentication methods.

    • Operator not supported re-direct

      A new parameter is being added to the Discovery UI call to indicate that if an operator is not supported then the error should go back to the app and not to the Discovery UI page. The App can then give the user alternative ways of authentication.

    All of these changes have been designed to be backward compatible.

    The release is due to go live on Wednesday 26th April 2017. It is not expected that the release will impact the operation of the API Exchange services, or your use of them. However, we would like you to be aware of the changes so that you can utilise the improved error descriptions within your own services if you wish.

    Please monitor your services carefully and if you see any issues contact us immediately.

     

    Release Details

    Release date Wednesday 26th April 2017
    Release type Major
    Developer impact Moderate Impact. Backward Compatible
    Expected developer action
    • Developer Apps using the description from error object can now directly present it to end user.
    • Developer Apps can now rely on ttl from the Discovery response.
    • Developer Apps can use X-Redirect: APP header in case of an unsupported operator to skip the UI flow.
      Release summary
      1. Expired ttl on discovery response is renewed on new discovery request.
      2. Discovery UI flow: “Remember me” of the same number multiple times is now fixed and shown only once.
      3. Operator not discovered message has changed:

        previously

        {
  "error": "Not_Found_Entity",
  "description": "We could not find your operator based on the MSISDN supplied"
}

        now

        {
  "error": "Not_Found_Entity",
  "description": "Operator not supported for the MSISDN supplied"
}
      4. Allow Redirect error messages to the App without UI error notification in the case of "operator not supported".
      5. Support added for charset=ISO-8859-1 with Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded for MSISDN post.

      Sandbox update

      Wednesday 5th April 2017

      The Developer Portal Sandbox has been updated with the following changes:.

      Release date Wednesday 5th April 2017
      Release type Minor
      Developer impact Minor
      Expected developer action None
      Release summary
      • Change token revoke messages to indicate if there was a token to revoke
      • Return an error if one of the Selected- parameters is used alone
      • Add a set of IP addresses for the test operators to support IP based requests
      • Add support for X-Source-IP parameter

      Developer Portal update

      Wednesday 5th April 2017

      The Developer Portal has been updated with the following changes:

      Release date Wednesday 5th April 2017
      Release type Minor
      Developer impact Minor
      Expected developer action None
      Release summary
      • The create application page has been modified to align with other UX changes
      • The application details page has been re-designed to make it easier to navigate and to show the content more clearly
      • The phrase promote has been replaced by request API access to make it clearer what the process actually does.
      • A new document covering supported AMR values has been added
      • Bug fixes

      Mobile Profile v.12 renamed

      Monday 20th March 2017: 11:11

      Mobile Profile v1.2 has now been renamed to Mobile Profile v2.0 to keep it in line with the Mobile Profile release plans - this change has now been implemented in the Developer Portal. The API definition is unchanged.

      Developer Portal update

      Tuesday 7th March 2017: 11:10

      The Developer Portal has been updated with the following changes:

      Release date Tuesday 7th March 2017
      Release type Minor
      Developer impact Minor
      Expected developer action None
      Release summary
      • Improve sign-in process by supporting the enter/return key better.
      • Review and update the Discovery API Documentation.
      • Replace existing Discovery API examples with Sandbox requests.
      • Added What's New section for updates and release notes.
      • Mobile Connect accounts now allow Password Recovery.
      • Bug fixes

      Sandbox update

      Tuesday 7th March 2017: 11:05

      The Developer Portal Sandbox has been updated with the following changes:.

      Release date Tuesday 7th March 2017
      Release type Minor
      Developer impact Minor
      Expected developer action None
      Release summary
      • Passthrough numbers now ignore any configuration when in My Test Numbers and ignore the operator setting.
      • Small bug fixes

      API Exchange update

      Tuesday 7th March 2017: 10:53

      The API Exchange Discovery planned update has now been completed with the following changes.

      Release date Tuesday 7th March 2017
      Release type Minor
      Developer impact Minor
      Expected developer action None
      Release summary

      These languages will now be supported in the Discovery UI.

      • বাংলা (Bengali)
      • English (UK)
      • Français (French)
      • Italiano (Italian)
      • हिंदी (Hindi)
      • 简体中文 (Mandarin)
      • Español (Spanish)
      • Türkçe (Turkish)
      • اردو (Urdu)

      API Exchange update notification

      Friday 3rd March 2017: 11:36

      The API Exchange Discovery service will be updated on Tuesday 7th March with support for an additional 9 languages.

      More details

      The Mobile Connect App Challenge

      The Mobile Connect App Challenge starting October 26th and finishing February 6th, is an online contest that will allow participants to build an app that will change the way we connect with different apps and websites using Mobile Connect technology.

      The first prize up for grabs is the chance to travel to Barcelona (flights, hotel, expenses) and the unforgettable opportunity to showcase your winning app at Mobile World Congress 2017 – a prize value of €10,000!!

      More

      New Event: Mobile Connect Summit Bengaluru - Sat 20th August

      12th August 2016

      Mobile Connect has arrived in India with the six major mobile network operators (Aircel, Airtel, Idea, Tata Teleservices Ltd, Telenor and Vodafone) enabling over 800 million people to use the secure digital identity solution.

      Having this enabled base opens up a wide range of opportunities for developers and digital service providers to evolve their authentication methods for the next generation in a more secure and convenient manner.

      The Mobile Connect Summit will be an opportunity to meet some of the key stakeholders that have made this service available – operators, vendors and the GSMA will reveal use cases and discuss how Mobile Connect can enhance your business. The event will conclude with networking drinks.

      Click here for more details & registration

      Developer Portal Updates

      1st July 2016

      As part of the continuing upgrades and improvements to the portal you will see that some of the content sections are being moved around, existing content is being rewritten and additional content added.

      Discovery Updates

      4th May 2016: 16:07

      A new version of Discovery has been released with the following updates

      • The Discovery User interface has been updated with support for the following languages:
        • Bengali
        • French
        • Mandarin
        • Turkish
        • Urdu
      • The following bug fixes have been released:
        • Support for Discovery Redirect URL with query parameters
        • Disabling replaying of session id using nonce mechanics

      GSMA’S Mobile Connect available to 2 billion consumers globally

      22nd February 2016

      Mobile Connect Launched with 34 Operators in 21 Countries Around the World

      Barcelona: The GSMA today announced that the GSMA Mobile Connect mobile-based authentication solution is now available to 2 billion consumers globally. Since the solution was introduced at Mobile World Congress 2014, 34 mobile network operators (MNOs) have launched the service in 21 countries, with plans for additional launches and trials to follow in 2016 and beyond. Operators offering services based on Mobile Connect include América Móvil, Axiata Group (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka), China Mobile, China Mobile Pakistan (Zong), China Telecom, China Unicom, DNA, Elisa, Globe Telecom, Indosat Ooredoo, Mobilink, Mobitel, Orange (Egypt, France, Morocco, Spain), Sunrise, Swisscom (Switzerland), Telefónica Group (Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Spain), Telenor Group (Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand), TeliaSonera (Finland), Telkomsel, Telstra, TIM and Turkcell (Turkey).

      More details

      Developer Portal Update

      19th February 2016: 11:30

      New functionality on the Mobile Connect Developer portal has created a new distribution channel to enable service providers to contract with Mobile Connect operators through one standard set of terms and conditions.

      This single enhancement means service providers can now quickly and efficiently deploy Mobile Connect, practically within a couple of days of first visiting the Mobile Connect Developer Portal.

      To access this new distribution channel service providers need to

      1. Register on the developer portal
      2. Accept the marketing license terms to access and use the Mobile Connect brand
      3. Click on My Operators to view and accept the terms and conditions for the markets and subsequently operators you wish to contract with
      4. When your Application is ready to go live you can select the operators that you want to launch with and “promote” your application to their live environments. You’ll immediately receive a set of credentials for the live discovery service and then an email from each operator you selected confirming when your Application is provisioned on their network

      This service is live in Bangladesh, Finland, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand. At this time the platform supports only no charge services. New operators and thus more markets are expected to follow quickly as Mobile Connect continues to expand its touch points.

      Mobile World Congress Event

      18th February 2016: 11:30

      Next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona we will be holding an event exclusively for developers interested in getting started with Mobile Connect. During the two hour session developers will get an introduction to the Mobile Connect flow, the developer website and how to run a small HTML5 app using the Mobile Connect APIs. Developers should leave the session being able to get started with building Mobile Connect into their apps and know where to go to get helpful information when building. This session will be held in the main Mobile World Congress venue, Fira Gran Via. Attendees will need a Mobile World Congress pass to be able to attend the event, a separate special ticket is not needed.

      Name: Building Apps with Mobile Connect: Login and Two Factor Authentication for Users
      Date: 24th February
      Time: 9-11am
      Room: Hall 3, CC3, Level 1, Room 3.14b

      New Discovery Interface now available

      17th February 2016: 14:30

      Today the much improved user interface for Mobile Connect discovery goes live. This will be available with immediate effect in all active markets with the exception of India, which will follow later.

      New Discovery Interface

      This year, GSMA commissioned the User Experience Design Agency “Fjord” to review the API Exchange Discovery user interface and the login and registration user experience for Mobile Connect. As a result, a friendlier and richer discovery service has been designed which is now in the implementation phase with Apigee, the vendor for the API Exchange. The release of the new API Exchange discovery service, featuring this new user interface, is nearly ready and will be integrated into all deployments. We plan to release this before Mobile World Congress on 22 February.

      Come see us at Mobile World Congress 2016

      Experience Mobile Connect at the GSMA Innovation City where operators who have successfully launched Mobile Connect in their markets will be showcased alongside their partners demonstrating the ease, added security and privacy delivered by the new standard in authentication. Preview future use-cases for Mobile Connect and learn how the simple, secure access benefits and transforms online businesses through increased customer loyalty and trust. Meet the experts at our Discovery Bar to learn how to get started with Mobile Connect and join the growing global community.

      Click here for more details