The government is asking telecom operators and industry associations about using "Open APIs for emerging technologies", according to a document verified by two sources we spoke to. In a letter dated October 12, the Department of Telecommunications asked a select group of government and industry stakeholders for "suggestions/inputs for a holistic view" on using open APIs in emerging platforms. APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are software that facilitate communication between different types of applications. We have reached out to the DoT for further confirmation and comment on the letter. This is the second policy consultation in two months that the DoT is holding with only industry and government stakeholders, without participation from civil society, academia or the general public. In September, we first reported the department's letter asking for inputs on China and Huawei's New IP proposal, which seeks a revamp of the foundational protocols underlying the internet. Reference to 5G? The letter doesn't specify the reason for asking about its subject. All it does is point to a certain line in the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018, and ask stakeholders for inputs. This is the line it points to, bolded by us for emphasis: Synergising deployment and adoption of new and emerging technologies by: Creating a roadmap for emerging technologies and its use in the communications sector, such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing and M2M Simplifying licensing and regulatory frameworks whilst ensuring appropriate security frameworks for IoT/ M2M / future services and network elements…
