In this meeting, the State Changers discussed the process of integrating USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) with an app, particularly to serve areas with limited internet access. They explored how to get the USSD data into a Xano database and bridge it with an API so that Xano can be notified of the information coming over the USSD messages.
Twilio, a service that simplifies telephonic interactions through API, was the first suggestion. However, they also touched on the potential of other services like Africa's Talking, a platform specifically designed for the African market, and immense in handling USSD interactions. The State Changers highlighted the idea of initiating a Google search with the keywords "USSD" and "API" to find other relevant platforms or services, given that there may be multiple vendors focusing on markets like Africa, where USSD is used extensively due to lack of internet connectivity, but presence of GSM services via radio towers.
(Source: Office Hours 8/22/2023 )
