Leading mobile operators and vendors explain how a potent combination of 5G, open APIs and artificial intelligence is making networks programmable
Mobile operators are seeing a growing market for standardised application programming interfaces (APIs) that make it easier for developers to harness 5G network capabilities, such as premium connectivity on demand. That was one of the key takeaways from the Accelerating Open Gateway in the Era of 5GA and AI summit hosted by the GSMA at MWC24 Shanghai.
Drawing on the GSMA’s Open Gateway framework, KDDI has rolled out KYC fill-in and KYC match in Japan. “There are a couple of APIs which need 5G network capability, such as quality on demand and traffic influence , and I think those APIs [have] huge potential,” Masaaki Koga, Executive Director at KDDI, told the summit. KDDI is now running a proof of concept to show how quality on demand and edge discovery APIs can enable broadcasters to use wireless technology and edge compute to streamline on-site operations and implement real-time editing.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, Claro, TIM, and Vivo, supported by Infobip, have launched network APIs that enable banks and financial services players to verify a mobile phone number, check for a recent SIM card swap and verify a device’s location. At the Summit, Jiun Kei Lim, Head of Operator Partnerships – APAC for Infobip, said these Open Gateway APIs are creating value for customers and boosting operators’ revenues. He also described how a quality on demand API can improve the experience of attendees at major events by ensuring they can get online and access content and services, such as ride hailing, when the mobile networks are congested.
Both Xiaoyu Ye, Deputy Dean at China Unicom and Yan Jia, Deputy Managing Director of the Cloud-Network Operation Department at China Telecom, also flagged enterprise demand to use operators’ APIs to combat fraud and tailor network performance to the needs of end users. They said they regard the Open Gateway framework as a key way to open up their networks and enable developers to innovate, while highlighting the importance of developer programmes, hackathons, developer portals and labs with API access.
Today, many of the open APIs being rolled out by operators are focused on the core network, noted Zhang Jian, Head of Network Value-Based Architecture at Nokia. “APIs will also make an impact towards the radio network and this is also something that we are working on,” he added. “Developers will be able to utilise the resources in the radio network to make applications more accessible for end users and improve their experience.”
Opening up new revenue streams
Highlighting the potential of the Open Gateway APIs to deliver a new business paradigm, Dr. Philip Song, Chief Marketing Officer for Huawei Carrier Business, outlined how recognisable, predictable and “guaranteeable” connectivity will meet the needs of people playing cloud-based games and live streaming video. He shared that, in the case of Huawei’s partnership with global carriers, mobile operators will be able to charge as much as US$54 a month to people who want to boost their uplink connections to support live streaming. He also estimated that broadcasters might pay as much as €200 per hour for a guaranteed uplink of 8 Mbps when they are transmitting live video streams from an event.
Highlighting the potential of the Open Gateway APIs to deliver a new business paradigm, Dr. Philip Song, Chief Marketing Officer for Huawei Carrier Business, outlined how recognisable, predictable and “guaranteeable” connectivity will meet the needs of people playing cloud-based games and live streaming video. He suggested that mobile operators will be able to charge as much as US$54 a month to people who want to use APIs to boost their uplink connections to support live streaming. He also estimated that broadcasters might pay as much as €400 per hour for a guaranteed uplink of 25 Mbps when they are transmitting live video streams from an event.
For operators to be able to fully realise the potential of network APIs, many will first have to improve the quality of their infrastructure. That was the contention of Drazen Jarnjak, VP – Head of Networks, Northeast Asia for Ericsson. “Across the world, we don’t have the networks ready to expose the capabilities of 5G,” he cautioned. “We need to consider having the underlying network that can offer differentiated connectivity that can guarantee the quality of service … and also having a network that can make it available for the [mobile operator] so they can, in an easy way, programme the network based on the use cases: this is also fundamental.”
Adapting artificial intelligence to the needs of telcos
Speakers at the Summit also explored the potential use of other new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to further enhance the utility mobile networks. Yu Su, Vice President of the China Mobile Chengdu Institute of Research and Development, predicted that 6G core networks will be AI-native, while also highlighting the potential to use non-terrestrial networks to provide very wide coverage and support new innovative services.
In some cases, telecoms operators may need to create their own large language models to realise the full potential of AI. That is the view of Ronald Limao, VP of Technology Strategy & Consumer Product Innovation at Telkomsel. For example, “in Indonesia, we have around more than 1,000 native languages,” he noted. “Maybe this is also an opportunity that we can provide our own large language model” to underpin localised AI-based solutions.
It is vital that these models can be trusted, added Kurt Tan, Chief Growth Officer for Deloitte. Of the many AI-related challenges, encompassing everything from strategy, processes and people to data and technology, he said that building trust in AI models and helping employees adapt are the most critical to achieve scale.
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