Arthur D. Little: The New “Telecom” – an Industry Alliance Forms to Fast-Track Network API Monetization

A significant milestone in the telecom industry was reached between 12 of the most relevant telecom operators globally (América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon, Vodafone) and Ericsson, announcing the agreement to establish a joint vehicle to develop and monetize network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

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A significant milestone in the telecom industry was reached between 12 of the most relevant telecom operators globally (América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon, Vodafone) and Ericsson, announcing the agreement to establish a joint vehicle to develop and monetize network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). (Graphic: Business Wire)

The new company lays the foundation for the telecommunication API segment to emerge – a market ADL estimates to be worth ~30bn USD by 2030. The adoption of network APIs will fundamentally transform the telecommunications market, allowing more direct, dynamic, and scalable access to networking and compute resources. To succeed, telecom operators need to follow customer demand, which is becoming increasingly universal – this newly established venture with its global platform and reach is primed to provide exactly that for its stakeholders, as well as the wider industry ecosystem, and ultimately can be the driving force for scaling the API market.

Christoph Uferer, Lead Partner, comments: “We are proud to have been part of the journey of the largest telecom players globally joining forces to make it easy to access, use, and pay for network capabilities – essentially creating a new market. This collaboration is a real ‘first-of-its-kind’ in the industry. What it now takes to fully unlock the power of network APIs is for more and more operators to partner with the venture, thereby creating a truly global footprint that will allow developers to reach any subscriber around the globe by a single API ping.”

For other industry players to benefit from this dynamic, and be able to monetize networks through API-based access, global industry collaboration is the most effective way to fast-track. Yet, telecom operators need to align technical, strategic, and governance-related aspects to successfully contribute and reap the rewards of such an alliance.

Karim Taga, Managing Partner, adds: “API-based business models have transformed how customers source and consume connectivity – a whole new ecosystem has emerged. This alliance is a great opportunity for further telecom operators to engage.”

The transaction to form the new company is expected to close in early 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

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