The advent of 5G networking technology has provided enterprises with the low latency, reliable connectivity, and other advanced capabilities necessary to leverage the plethora of readily available innovative devices adequately. Yet, one aspect of 5G’s potential that is being mightily overlooked is its ability to act as a key service enabler.
With its openness and programmability, the new 5G core networks will enable an application ecosystem that can convey customized programmable assets as a platform for collaboration and innovation among organizations and let developers use the open assets to accelerate the development of new apps and services.
This skill of 5G is driving new technological trends in numerous sectors, with the growing use of application programmable interfaces (APIs) being among the most prominent trends spurred by the new networks.
APIs are mechanisms that enable two software components to communicate with each other using a set of definitions and protocols. The API documentation contains information on how developers structure those requests and responses. This helps enterprises let their product or service communicate with other products and services without knowing how they’re implemented, simplifying app development and saving enterprises both time and money.
The potential of the combination of 5G networks and APIs was recently the topic of “Unlocking Platforming Opportunities with Network APIs,” which featured Laurent Leboucher, Group CTO & Senior Vice President, Orange Innovation Networks, Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA, Lee Myall, Chief Executive Officer, Neos Networks, Peter Arbitter, SVP Portfolio & Product Management, Deutsche Telekom, Max Gasparroni, Vice President, Core Network Strategy, Liberty Global, and Dr. Ishwar Parulkar, CTO, AWS.
“This panel brought together top experts across the 5G and API networking domains,” said Ramesh Kaza, President of Shabodi, a fast-growing company that has created many leading APIs designed to bring network awareness to industrial automation applications on private 5G networks. “They very clearly laid out the important fact that, without APIs, monetizing investments in new networks is slow and painful. Our Application Enablement Platform (AEP) unleashes full advanced network potential. Because of our many existing APIs, our platform empowers developers, engineers, and businesses to create and deploy high-performing network-aware applications seamlessly, maximizing advanced network ROI and revenue streams.”
With the use of APIs becoming more common in many industries, Network APIs are predicted to achieve significant growth, rising at a CAGR of 13.07% from 2024 to 2031 to reach USD 10 billion by the end of 2024. This estimated growth would have the market value reaching USD 20.9 billion by 2031 as nascent developer initiatives actualize their potential and growth accelerates in 2027 and beyond. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/global-telecom-network-api-market-size-2031-forecast-59ssf/)
This notable growth brings new opportunities for many sectors, with technology bringing tremendous potential for positive change to the telecom industry. Telcos can leverage Network APIs as key technology enablers to expose network capabilities and empower their customers to build promising new concepts called network-aware applications requiring on-demand network resources, intelligent edge routing techniques, location services, etc. The telco’s business goal of exposing network capabilities through Network APIs is to increase network capacity utilization, drive topline growth, and monetize network investments. To create the demand for network APIs, telcos must ensure they can offer 5G and other programmable advanced networks and APIs at their fullest potential.
The group touched upon various points related to the growing value of network APIs for telcos. For instance, Sinclair highlighted the momentum gained by the Open Gateway initiative, which now has 49 operator groups representing 241 networks, with 28 APIs already published, with Arbitter backing this thought, mentioning how Open Gateway has garnered as much support in a year as Mobile Connect did in eight.
Also, looking ahead during the discussion, Farrulka emphasized the need to think about network APIs in the context of developers who will require API-based access to other services and cloud infrastructure. Farrulka believes the feedback from developers will help to quickly reveal the value of the commercial potential of network APIs, even at an early stage.
However, regarding potential value for telcos, Arbitter mentions how telcos will have to enhance their creativity, specifically regarding how and who they engage with, to create more demand for network APIs.
“I think it gives telcos more room to do something innovative, do something different, and ultimately, try to extract more revenue at different layers. And this encourages telcos to invest in the underlying enablers, so they have the engagement and enable API enrichment,” said Gasparroni during the panel. “I’m very optimistic about the telco cause, as the situation is different from 10 to 15 years ago, where we now have the advanced communication infrastructure required for these advanced services.”
“Network-aware applications can take advantage of the programmable nature of the network to dynamically request network resources such as higher quality of service (QoS on demand), deterministic path, and specific latency, which can elevate a private 5G network beyond a mere connectivity pipe, turning it into an intelligent asset for telcos,” Kaza explained. “However, given the digital complexity of network aware-applications, telcos must find ways to ensure the proper development and implementation, lest they offer 5G network services to their clients at less than their full potential.”
For many telcos, the solution to this problem is building in-house or partnering with vendors who can supply application enablement platforms (AEP) that can discover, transform, and catalog the network capabilities in developer-friendly API formats. The AEPs allow telcos to create marketplaces or work with aggregators to reach the developers. Often SaaS-based, AEPs enable telcos to focus on their core competencies and develop innovative solutions without spending excessive time and resources on building and maintaining the complex application infrastructure that powers it.
In a private 5G or advanced network deployment, AEPs can offer an enterprise many benefits, such as improved application performance, portability, optimized network utilization, and cost savings.
“With AEP technology, telcos are provided with an operator exposure platform with simplified network APIs which, in relation to 5G, refers to the ability of developers and third-party applications to access and utilize the functionalities and services offered by the 5G network,” Kaza said, adding, “This enables the creation of innovative applications, services, and solutions by leveraging the capabilities of the 5G infrastructure, helping telcos to drive service innovation with and through an extended ecosystem.”
Ultimately, as Network APIs become more widely used in IT and telecom and the need for a secure exposure platform arises to make development easier, bring agility to the creation of services, and hide complexity, telcos must ensure they remain ahead of the curve by providing network-aware abilities that enhance APIs and 5G networks beyond their current capabilities.
“To remain competitive in today’s highly digital world, telcos must leverage AEP technology to expose telecom network capabilities via APIs and thus network awareness, allowing them to provide their clients with the ability to increase their agility and the efficiency with which they adapt to technological change,” Kaza noted. “Telecom has always been a connected industry that relies on solid tech ecosystems, and this is even more the case as networks become faster and support more automated systems and connected IoT and Industrial IoT solutions.”
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