The business opportunity to access mobile network capabilities via application programming interfaces (APIs was one of the top stories at MWC 2024. Valued at $300 billion by McKinsey, the management consultancy, the scale of opportunity positions APIs as a vehicle to move the industry’s revenue dial materially.
However, the opportunity will be complex to realize. From this GSMA webinar, it was evident that business model and monetization frameworks are a work in progress. In addition, market realization depends on a multi-party service delivery chain; critical elements to the telco API ecosystem reside outside of mobile network operators’ (MNOs) control. Finally, the mobile industry’s focus on API monetization and revenues puts the sector at risk of overlooking wider considerations and key market-development levers.
Telco API Market Opportunity
Go back a year to MWC 2023 which is when the GSMA launched its Open Gateway initiative. The initiative set out to give developers access to a range of universal network APIs. One stated benefit from providing a single, standardized point of entry into a network is to lower the barrier to creating more compelling mobile experiences. In the MWC 2024 update, the initial scope of these APIs includes subscriber identity, location, network quality, mobile edge cloud, and payments capabilities.
The $300bn headline figure that was used to quantify the telco API opportunity represents the upper end of a $100-300bn range that covers connectivity- and edge-computing-related revenues. This forecast is expected to materialize over a five-to-seven-year period with a composition by industry vertical as illustrated below.
The majority of the projected opportunity applies to media and entertainment applications as well as a combination of vertical sector applications that typically feature in IoT application domains. The size and composition of these data points are important to grasp if the industry is to target the maximal opportunity. McKinsey also estimated that the APIs themselves will amount to an additional $10 billion to $30 billion in mobile operator revenues.
Business Model and Service Delivery Chain
According to McKinsey, one of the first challenges the industry faces stems from the current market structure. AS things stand, MNOs might relinquish up to two-thirds of the value potential to other ecosystem participants. The following simplified representation of the telco API ecosystem illustrates the mobile operator challenge. It shows the north-south APIs, the focus of the initial APIs released, being exposed to channel partners and on to consumer and enterprise customers.
The benefits arising from innovative use cases, consumer convenience, and business efficiency gains, for example, are weighted to the end users in the form of consumer surplus and services provided by developers, enterprises, and service enabling channel partners. The process of converting value generated in the customer base and channels to market depends on external intermediaries to reach the MNOs.
APIs are a technical enabler to capitalize on these opportunities. Mobile operators can amplify the potential of these APIs by making it easy to access and apply them. Since end-users want dependable and mass-market solutions, market making will inevitably take MNOs beyond the telco-to-techno journey.
Mobile operators also need to pursue a strategy of massive scale. It will not be enough for a few operators to cultivate this market opportunity, setting out a relatively small prize for application developers to chase. A better outcome would see telco-API capabilities becoming universal and appealing to a wider base of developers and users. While the GSMA’s first crop of APIs focuses on consumer applications, future extensions are likely to service enterprise needs and IoT use cases which exhibit quite different requirements. Compared to an individual’s smartphone, for example, IoT devices are deployed in batches and will call for APIs that can handle remote management of constrained devices and group handling. IoT devices that are constrained in terms of processing power and storage memory can also benefit from offloading processing activities to network functions. This expands the scope of API opportunities for MNOs to offer.
In addition to standardizing APIs in the north-south direction (up-and-down the service delivery chain), universality would also take the form of a horizontal capability. In effect, the industry could reposition its role to providing a multi-sided, horizontal platform for the API-enabled economy through standardized interoperability in the east-west direction. The GSMA published guidelines on this topic after MWC 2023 but seems not to have featured the horizontal API capabilities in its 2024 promotions.
Industry APIs or Cross-Industry Platform?
McKinsey’s telco API market study proposes a roadmap for industry change to capitalize on API revenue opportunities. Might there be another way to approach the market if the emphasis shifts from APIs to a horizontal, cross-industry platform? The field of platform strategy provides a few pointers, beginning with this definition of value creation in platform businesses. Value creation results from dynamic interactions between different resources, components, processes, and autonomous actors, most of which reside outside the focus of a platform provider and its hierarchy of control. This description applies to the simplified ecosystem illustrated above.
According to research from the World Economic Forum (WEF), the first pointer in making a platform business model work is the concept of the inverted firm. This arises in situations where a platform organization seeks to grow and orchestrate external resources. It involves harnessing external resources and labor to shift production from inside the firm to outside it. One challenge is to switch from managing vertical integration to open orchestration. Another is the shift from managing resources under a telco manager’s control to resources that their eco-system partners must volunteer.
A second pointer applies to ecosystem governance because of the importance of convincing partners that they are engaging with an open architecture with rules designed to facilitate interactions. A rise in the number of interactions is proof that the platform is being used. It also indicates that network effects will drive platform scale which increases a system’s appeal to users and developers.
The third pointer applies to the relative prioritization of revenue monetization over value creation strategies. According to the WEF study, the emphasis should begin with ideas to create and share value. Too early the emphasis on revenue generation puts friction into initiatives intended to drive third-party engagement because, without that external engagement, a platform has no value to monetize.
With considerable technical and testing work completed, the GSMA’s Open Gateway participants are in the initial stages of developing the telco-API market. There is more to do in terms of experimentation, market testing and strategic market development. Framing the challenge with a ’big-picture’ perspective will be critical for the industry to evolve beyond its telco-connectivity business model. It will determine whether success is shaped by digital platform strategies and results measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
6 March 2024 update
ReplyDeleteOrange Group CTO Laurent Leboucher talks to Mobile Europe about building industry momentum for Orange’s telco platform offerings after launch of two APIs this month.
Orange is working on the next tranche of application programming interfaces (APIs) to make available to developers following the launch of its first two API services this year as it looks to build industry momentum for its telco platform offerings.
In Spain, Orange teamed with Telefónica and Vodafone to introduce two network APIs earlier this month, Number Verification and SIM Swap, which are aimed at fraud prevention and detection use cases as part of the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative.
The APIs are commercially available in Spain for developers to use. The operators worked together in order to “expose APIs in a consistent manner,” said Laurent Leboucher, Group CTO and Senior Vice President of Orange Innovation Networks.
Orange has also made these APIs available in France and is working with other operators in its home market to get them more involved in the initiative.
Turning attention
Now, the operator is turning its attention to geofencing and quality-on-demand APIs for new use cases, which were some of the demos on its stand at this year’s Mobile World Congress.
“We started with APIs that are easy to expose. Our plan is to go commercial … with some other APIs where we need to [work] on the technical aspect – the network exposure function,” said Leboucher.
He explained that the geolocation API “is probably the easiest one that will come very soon,” but “quality on demand will need a bit more time to understand where it makes a big difference.”
https://www.mobileeurope.co.uk/orange-preps-next-set-of-network-api-launches/
7 March 2024 update
ReplyDeleteTelefonica chief likens API impact to roaming
Alvarez-Pallete noted when operators collaborated on roaming 37 years ago, “we changed the world”, predicting the Open Gateway initiative would have the same impact.
Figures released by the GSMA during MWC Barcelona 2024 show the initiative is gathering pace, with 47 operator groups already on board.
Alvarez-Pallete noted fibre and 5G are no-longer simply telecommunications networks, instead effectively being “something much more powerful, some massively decentralised supercomputer”.
“So at the end of the day, exposing the capabilities of this thing to everybody to make sure that we are able to monetise elements of the network” operators are “building anyhow”, means they can exploit those to generate revenue.
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/telefonica/telefonica-chief-likens-api-impact-to-roamin
21 Mar 2024 update
ReplyDeleteAccelerating the Future of Wireless Communication with the NVIDIA 6G Developer Program
6G will make the telco network AI-native for the first time. To develop 6G technologies, the telecom industry needs a whole new approach to research.
The world of wireless communication is on the verge of a major transformation with the advent of 6G technology. 6G, the upcoming sixth-generation wireless network, is expected to provide extremely high-performance interconnections, even under strenuous scenarios such as diverse mobility, extreme density, and dynamic environments.
The key driving applications for 6G include the delivery of global-scale generative AI applications, smart cities, smart factories, unmanned aerial vehicles, immersive communication services, and multi-dimensional sensing services.
To accelerate the development of 6G technology, NVIDIA is launching the NVIDIA 6G Developer Program. This program aims to democratize access to AI/ML tools, radio frequency simulation environments, accelerated compute infrastructure, and a full set of software-defined end-to-end network functions. The goal is to enable 6G wireless researchers to conduct cutting-edge research at a new level to gain early mindshare on key areas in 6G.
The NVIDIA 6G Developer Program includes a system-level simulation platform called NVIDIA Aerial Omniverse Digital Twin, a fully software-defined radio access network (RAN) platform, and an AI/ML framework that integrates with the software-defined RAN platform.
https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/accelerating-future-of-wireless-communication-with-nvidia-6g-developer-program/
2 April 2024 update
ReplyDeleteA deeper dive into the 5G network API opportunity
It's been a year since the global wireless industry announced its newest API networking initiative. It could be worth $300 billion, according to some. Others think it's 'unlikely to gain critical mass.'
https://www.lightreading.com/cloud/a-deeper-dive-into-the-5g-network-api-opportunity
The 5G API ecosystem is ready, but are communications service providers?
https://www.kearney.com/industry/telecommunications/article/the-5g-api-ecosystem-is-ready-but-are-communications-service-providers
3 April 2024 update
ReplyDeletehttps://camaraproject.org/
Abstraction from Network APIs to Service APIs is necessary:
- To simplify telco complexity making APIs easy to consume for customers with no telco expertise (user-friendly APIs)
- To satisfy data privacy and regulatory requirements
- To facilitate application to network integration
Availability across telco networks and countries is necessary:
- To ensure seamless customer experience
- To accelerate technology development and commercial
- To accelerate education and promotion To support application portability
8 April 2024 update
ReplyDeleteSK Telecom embraces ODA to support Global Telco AI Alliance
Will Cho Sang-hyuk, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at SK Telecom, explained why ODA is important for telco implementations of Generative AI (GenAI).
“[Operators] are excited about GenAI and thought using big tech companies’ APIs is sufficient to apply the technology to respective telco use cases, but this is not true … Without seamless integration with the back-end system, you cannot achieve the outcome you want to deliver for customer satisfaction,” he said.
The Alliance is initially focused on creating LLMs to support digital assistants and chatbots to improve customer interactions by making them more conversational. Examples of the GenAI use cases include providing real-time assistance to call center agents and generating post-call summaries.
Customer service use cases require access to Business Support Systems and Operational Support Systems (BSS/OSS), and the Alliance needed a standard way for LLMs to integrate with telco systems without having to handle “scores of APIs,” he explained. This is where ODA comes in.
https://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-opinion/sk-telecom-embraces-oda-to-support-global-telco-ai-alliance
22 April 2024 update
ReplyDeleteDr. Hartmut Wittig, Vice President - Magenta API Capability Exposure, Go-to-Market & Sales Support, Deutsche Telekom
Dr Hartmut Wittig, VP of go-to-market and sales support at Magenta API Capability Exposure (MACE), explains how the Deutsche Telekom unit is developing its network API exposure strategy and how it is engaging with the application developer and API platform community. He also discusses the evolution of the business relationships that drive this emerging telecom industry sector.
- Core team of about 50 at DT.
Don't envisage developers signing contracts with 700 MNOs.
- go to market avenues: cloud provider developer communities; DT offering to smaller MNOs that lack API support/staff capacity; aggregators to higher data service in Layer 3/4. And of course, DT's direct sales force - 3k account managers and access to 50k large businesses.
Commercial returns - look for premium services and related application opportunities e.g. video vs. interruptible video scenarios. Expect income to split 50:50 from direct channels and from developer ecosystems.
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/digital-platforms-services/exposing-network-apis-the-deutsche-telekom-way-50187/
15 May 2024 update
ReplyDeleteDeutsche Telekom pitches APIs to wholesale customers
German incumbent Deutsche Telekom wants its international wholesale unit to play a prominent role in the emerging API ecosystem.
https://www.telecoms.com/5g-6g/deutsche-telekom-pitches-apis-to-wholesale-customers
23 May 2024 update
ReplyDeleteSekura.id - official GSMA Open Gateway Channel Partner
What is Open Gateway?
Open Gateway is a paradigm shift in service delivery; a huge opportunity for operators and enterprises to transform their revenue streams and roll out game-changing new services through Open Gateway.Sekura.id is a trusted partner using our experience and the SAFr platform to make that happen. Today.
Why do MNOs need Channel Partners?
The MNO requires a specialist Channel Partner, like Sekura.id, who will help them expose the APIs using an Open Gateway platform. That is what Sekura.id as a channel partner does right now.
Is it just for operators/carriers?
No. Open Gateway is also for any enterprise that wants to consume services like SIM Swap, Number Verify, Auth, KYC etc. – more than 90 standard Open Gateway APIs. The enterprise requires a specialist Channel Partner who will help them expose MNO data using an Open Gateway platform. That is what Sekura.id does right now.
https://sekura.id/open-gateway/
28 May 2024 update
ReplyDeleteOrange and Nokia strengthen collaboration with API agreement
Orange and Nokia today announced that they are expanding their partnership to advance network programmability and monetization. Using Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal, developers will be able to test and take advantage of Orange's 5G network capabilities to create applications for customers in France and other parts of Europe.
Orange, one of Europe’s leading telecommunications providers with more than 280 million mobile subscribers, is already providing commercial production grade network API capabilities to developers using the Orange Developer Portal.
Orange aims to accelerate and further tap into the global ecosystem of developers and unlock 5G network capabilities such as dynamic bandwidth allocation, real-time location insights, predictive maintenance, and event-driven triggers for security and safety responses.
To make that happen, Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal will provide application developers with access to Software Development Kits (SDK); Network API documentation, a ‘sandbox’ to create software code for use case simulation and testing; and code ‘snippets’ that can be included in new applications in addition to Orange Developer Portal.
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/digital-platforms-services/orange-and-nokia-strengthen-collaboration-with-api-agreement-50448/
19 June 2024 update
ReplyDeleteAxiata’s telecom chief dangles $1tn carrot in front of peers
He noted that Axiata has long been engaging with the application developer community and exposing its capabilities through standardised APIs. “We work with 50,000 external developers and have thousands of internal developers too,” with more than 100 APIs exposed externally, including those exposed in league with Indonesia’s other operators, as announced in February.
But that’s not enough. “We need to partner with the hyperscalers”and offer zero-touch interactions to make things easier for everyone in the ecosystem and those involved in the end-to-end process, as well as team up and work collaboratively with other telcos.
“Peer telcos are allies in this ecosystem, not foes. If we don’t realise this, we can forget about that $1tn,” stated Wijayasuriya.
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/digital-platforms-services/axiata-s-telecom-chief-dangles-1tn-carrot-in-front-of-peers-50649/
20 July 2024 (referring to a Feb 2013 presentation)
ReplyDeleteEconomic Models for Reinventing Telco - Innovation with APIs
1) Traditional telco business models are challenged by new ecosystems-driven competition from OTT players like WhatsApp and WeChat that offer alternative services.
2) Telcos need to reinvent themselves from singular networks optimized for connectivity to modular structures that leverage ecosystems to diversify and drive new revenue from services.
3) A modern telco approach focuses on fostering innovation beyond networks by providing APIs, developer tools, and value-added services to ecosystems rather than competing directly with platforms.
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/economic-models-for-reinventing-telco-innovation-with-apis/16513871
24 July 2024 update
ReplyDeleteBridge Alliance and Singtel partner to launch regional telco API exchange powered by Singtel Paragon platform
We have partnered our Bridge Member Operator Singtel to accelerate regional Application Programming Interface (hashtag#API) federation through the launch of the Bridge Alliance API Exchange (hashtag#BAEx), which is powered by Singtel’s hashtag#Paragon platform.
With BAEx, hashtag#enterprises and hashtag#developers can streamline the deployment of new services on member operator networks by accessing a common hashtag#APIs framework, which provides secure, consistent and on-demand access to telco network capabilities across multiple regions. This enables the regional aggregation and standardisation of telco APIs utilising hashtag#CAMARA APIs.
Read more: https://www.bridgealliance.com/2024/07/24/bridge-alliance-and-singtel-partner-to-launch-regional-telco-api-exchange-powered-by-singtel-paragon-platform/
https://www.telecoms.com/network-software/bridge-alliance-and-singtel-launch-telco-api-platform
19 September 2024 update
ReplyDeleteOpenCAPIF is an ETSI Software Development Group developing an open source Common API Framework as defined by 3GGP, allowing to expose and consume APIs in a secure and consistent day.
NOTE: CAPIF works more at the core network level while CAMARA plays at an upper layer and will use network APIs that are exposed using CAPIF. CAPIF enables interactions between API Providers and API invokers.
https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/12761/619594