Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have joined a new global venture bringing together a dozen of the largest telecom operators globally, and telecom equipment major Ericsson, to combine and sell network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on a global scale.
The move is set to open up the next frontier in app development since the newly formed company will allow apps created through the APIs to work anywhere and on any of the networks, Ericsson said on Friday in a statement.
Network APIs are open interfaces that allow developers to easily access advanced 5G network capabilities. The venture will drive implementation and access to common APIs from multiple telecom service providers to a broader ecosystem of developer platforms.
Modern mobile networks have advanced and intelligent capabilities, which have historically been inaccessible to developers. “Additionally, it has been impractical for developers to integrate the different capabilities of hundreds of individual telecom operators,” Ericsson said.
However, the new venture is expected to set the industry standard globally and lead to a breakthrough towards this, considering the names involved. América Móvil, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Vodafone are part of the venture.
Closing of the transaction is expected by early 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Upon closing, Ericsson will hold 50 per cent of the equity in the venture, while the telecom providers will hold the other 50 per cent.
New use cases
The new venture is expected to lead to many new use cases being found across sectors. These could include anti-fraud verification for financial transactions and the ability to check device status so streaming providers can dynamically adjust video quality, Ericsson said.
“This move will enhance network monetisation opportunities. Airtel is delighted to partner in this initiative that will help enable the telecom sector to drive growth and innovation across the ecosystem,” Gopal Vittal, managing director and CEO of Bharti Airtel, said.
The newly formed company will provide network APIs to a broad ecosystem of developer platforms, including hyperscalers, Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) providers, system integrators, and independent software vendors, Ericsson said.
Vonage and Google Cloud will partner with the new company, providing access to their ecosystems of millions of developers as well as their partners.
“As we rapidly adopt an AI and API-driven technology ecosystem—by collaborating with global leaders, Jio is thrilled to offer a suite of innovative and transformative APIs to enterprises and developers worldwide,” Mathew Oommen, president of Reliance Jio, said.
First Published: Sep 13 2024 | 6:09 PM IST