AT&T is building visibility of its Call Management API “powered by [Voxeo Labs’] Tropo” voice and text application management platform. That makes AT&T the second major public network operator to embed the Tropo into their service development and delivery networks. As Opus Research reported in July, Deutsche Telekom embedded Tropo into its “Developer Garden” in July 2012.

AT&T is breaking through the clutter of CES – with over 150,000 attendees and over 2,500 exhibitors – by holding its own Developer Summit. As noted in this press release, the joint efforts of Voxeo Labs and AT&T, along with Ericsson and its IMS Innovation Platform, are designed to bring WebRTC (an emerging, but “open” standard for adding real-time voice and video conversations to Web-based applications) into the mix of services and applications. Initially, I think you’ll see a lot of Skype-like functionality and, because there’s “no download required,” it will probably look more like a Google+ Hangout.

In relatively short order, developers will take advantage of their ability to add real-time video conversations or conferences routinely to their applications. A joint announcement from Voxeo and AT&T highlights Crunched.com, which operates a service that supports “instant meetings” and presentations. The CTO of ESRI’s R&D Labs also provides a testimonial for AT&T’s Call Management API. ESRI’s maps and the products of its Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are the basis for location-based services around the world. The ability to incorporate “rich media” (images, audio, video, text) into real-time interactions is much appreciated by this map provider.

Working with Voxeo Labs is a mechanism for AT&T to stay relevant in a telecom environment that is rapidly migrating to “over-the-top” (IP-based) platforms. For a fee of $99 per year developers can trigger one million API calls per month on the AT&T API Platform. AT&T expects to lure 2,500 people to the 2013 Developer Summit in Las Vegas and reports that its developer program added 12,000 members in 2012.

Incumbent public network operators, like AT&T and Deutsche Telekom expect to prove the value of their multimedia management capabilities, billing systems, network reliability when used on behalf of third-party developers and application providers. In this capacity they are often met by skepticism but, in tandem with Voxeo, they will help the PNOs open their networks on behalf of third parties.

Categories: Articles

Tags: AT&T, mobile applications, Over-the-top, App Developers, Voxeo Labs