Connected mobility is evolving fast — but the real shift isn’t in the vehicles or infrastructure themselves. It’s in how data, connectivity and compute interact in real time, enabling smarter decisions at scale. This interplay, between network APIs, edge AI, and regulated connectivity, was at the heart of discussions at the Smart Mobility Summit held at MWC25.
Across policing, emergency response, logistics, automotive and port operations, a common thread emerged: real-time situational awareness, resilience, and scalability depend on exposing network capabilities in a developer-friendly way — and aligning them to actual operational constraints on the ground.
The case for network APIs is no longer theoretical
For years, the industry recognised the technical potential of telco APIs but questioned their commercial readiness. That’s now changing. From remote drone fleets to port operations and fleet routing, practical deployments are starting to emerge. These are not just prototypes, but functioning services. Nokia, for example, showcased its Network as Code platform, which aggregates network APIs from multiple operators and simplifies access for developers and enterprises. The value lies not just in exposing location or identity data, but in controlling quality of service and latency — especially for safety-critical tasks.
“Being able to guarantee the bandwidth allocation, ultra-low latency, that’s where the real differentiation is,” said Alex Walling, Head of Business Development, Network as Code at Nokia. He pointed to use cases requiring deterministic performance. For example, controlling a ship remotely or steering a car over the public mobile network. “In the US, to operate a drone without line of sight, you have to guarantee 50 milliseconds of latency. That’s only achievable if you can allocate the network itself.” Alexandra Reichl, Liberty Global’s VP for Mobile & API Services underscored the need for standardised APIs for mobility. “The standards are important here, and I think this is particularly the key with mobility. from our perspective as the network provider, this is a fundamental shift. We are putting network exposure layers into our network so that those functionalities, those APIs can be exposed and be made available into the solutions that are out there”.
Drone deployments are maturing
Perhaps the most mature example of connected mobility came from Swisscom. Philipp Eder, Head of Drones & Robots at the operator, outlined the company’s move beyond individual drone deployments to an integrated national service. “If you had been here ten years ago, everyone spoke about drones — but nobody was really able to scale it,” Eder said. Swisscom’s solution supports a distributed network of 300 drones across Switzerland. Each is connected via 4G or 5G and operated through a service model akin to ride-hailing. The aim is rapid response within five minutes to any location, whether for fire surveillance, security patrol, or infrastructure inspection.
But connectivity alone isn’t enough. Eder emphasised three layers of support that operators must provide: stable aerial connectivity, real-time crowd density data (to ensure safe flight paths), and access to broader airspace awareness tools. “It’s not just providing a SIM card. It’s making sure you have a stable connectivity in the air, which is quite challenging. We can determine how many people are in a certain location. This is a key factor, which is needed for the industry to grow.”
5G can help overcoming current complexities
If the Swiss model represents scalability, the Madrid police department brings the operational constraints into sharp focus. David Hermoso, Inspector for Policia Municipal de Madrid, explained how drones are already in active use. The city used them for event monitoring, traffic oversight, and emergency response — but limitations remain.
“Our biggest challenge is transmitting the video feed in real time to the decision-makers. In crowded areas, networks become saturated,” Hermoso said. The team experimented with Starlink, drone-in-a-box solutions, and hard-wired rooftop uplinks, but none offer the portability and dynamic response needed for urban policing. Hermoso emphasised that the team needs prioritised mobile connectivity that performs reliably during city congestion and high-stakes situations. “We’re counting on 5G to provide the quality of service we need to scale — without taking unnecessary risks.”
Network APIs can build trust in mission-critical connected mobility
Public safety and defence sectors only find new capabilities valuable when they can trust them — especially under pressure. As Magnus Packendorff, Head of Mission Critical Networks for Ericsson noted, “mission-critical services are rarely used on sunny days. They’re used in crisis. It’s crucial these networks are trusted.”
The key, he argued, is making the network programmable in ways that map to real-world operational control. For example, being able to dynamically assign high-priority network slices based on a command centre’s view of an evolving situation. “If there’s a fire and they don’t have water, they need to call a plumber — and that plumber should have the highest priority in the network. But in reality, it didn’t work. Now, with 5G and dynamic APIs, we can actually achieve that.” This transition — from theoretical capability to usable tooling — is what will define the next phase of deployment.
Security must move at “machine speed”
Exposing the network creates new attack surfaces, particularly as services span public and private domains. Mitchell Rappard, Director – 5G Technical Solutions of Palo Alto Networks highlighted the importance of visibility and automation. “We have a saying in the security world: you can’t secure what you can’t see. Implicit trust is the enemy of zero trust.”
He noted that mobile networks introduce protocol-level challenges unfamiliar to traditional enterprise IT teams. Security teams must apply zero trust models in ways that account for GTP-U, SCTP, and other telco-specific behaviours. More critically, detection and mitigation need to be autonomous. “When something does go wrong — and it will — the system needs to respond at machine speed.” Rappard also called for closer integration between network intelligence and security systems, so network APIs could trigger automated actions. For example, to isolate compromised devices or adjusting traffic handling in real time.
Standardisation and federation: from networks APIs to global connected mobility
Mobility is inherently cross-border, and so are the networks and vehicles supporting it. The industry is betting on initiatives like GSMA’s Open Gateway to bring coherence across operators, regions and industries. As Alexandra Reichl pointed out, “These are vehicles. These are devices that will cross borders, that will go in and out of private network fields, and it needs to be straightforward. That functionality, that provision needs to work regardless of where you’re sitting, how you’re behaving, and, you know, that standard functionality will be key here.”
KT echoed that sentiment by presenting use cases for automotive AI services and traffic signal optimisation in Korea. For these to scale beyond local deployments, APIs must be portable, discoverable and supported across operators. The focus, several speakers argued, should now shift from technology readiness to ecosystem readiness.
What next for the network APIs and connected mobility?
Operators are exposing their network APIs. Developers are building. Industries are engaging. The technical foundation is no longer the bottleneck. But scale still depends on three things: shared standards, viable business models, and proof of real-world impact. As Philipp Eder put it, “the technology is here.” The task now is to make it usable by delivering services that enable customers to fly, monitor, protect and respond at scale.
