Operators open 5G networks to application developers to drive innovation

• Orange, vodafone, in collaboration with Ericsson and Vonage, demonstrate how the advanced functionalities of mobile application development services networks can be exposed and easily consumed by the global developer community.

• The presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is a milestone in the industry, it shows the operators' ambition to accelerate innovation, opening the new generation of mobile networks and exposing advanced network functionalities for application developers and companies in the framework of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative.

• The demonstration shows how the user experience in real-time mobile games and high-density interactive video applications can be significantly improved by exposing the Quality of Service on Demand (QoD) API to application developers by operators. from Blacknut, Zoom and Vonage.

The collaboration at the Mobile World Congress is deployed on the Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone networks in Spain. It shows how the telecommunications industry is working with aggregators, such as Ericsson-Vonage, to expose new network capabilities to application developers that enable interactive high-definition video in gaming and productivity applications for mobile devices.

Exposing advanced 5G capabilities, through common application programming interfaces (APIs), will enable operators to leverage new ways to monetize 5G and rapidly deliver new services on a global scale with greater speed. The expansion of QoD API services to other markets taking advantage of the exhibition is also demonstrated in the collaboration. The ambition is for all three operators to use the same QoD API, defined, developed and documented in CAMERA, the open source project powered by the Linux Foundation in collaboration with GSMA, which is available for all operators to implement, thus maximizing benefits. potential for the developer community.

Exposing the capabilities of telecoms in an open, intuitive and programmable way through open global APIs will allow developer communities to innovate new applications and functions for any device that benefits from being connected to the network. The three telecom operators are developing their own roadmaps that incorporate common service APIs to make them available to developers.

The demonstration at the Mobile World Congress is characterized by the adoption of common APIs to the networks of different operators within the framework of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. This will make it easier for developers to create innovative services that use advanced network capabilities, such as quality of service, enhanced security, user authentication or network information, device information or predictive coverage. These capabilities are building blocks of the network that until now have not been exposed to the global developer community in a unified, easy-to-consume way.

Laurent Leboucher, CTO of the Orange Group, said: "At Orange we are very pleased to present to our counterparts the first live network APIs from CAMERA for new innovative business or consumer services. Having open network APIs from different operators, harmonized and accessible from a single place, eliminates friction for software developers and unleashes innovation and creativity for many use cases. Working with open network APIs creates a virtuous cycle of continuous feedback, which results in constant improvement and development of new innovative features. Orange has been encouraging and supporting the development and exposure of APIs for many years, especially through the Orange Developer Portal. The benefits are numerous, with a wide range of APIs that allow developers to co-innovate and develop their business.

Enrique Blanco, Global CTIO of Telefónica SA commented: "The demonstration that we jointly brought to the MWC with other large European operators and Ericsson is a very relevant step to lay the foundations for a new business model based on the advancement of the opening of functionalities of new network generations to application developers. This is an industry movement, led by GSMA through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, a true catalyst for very demanding network capacity services, such as communications immersive, web3 and metaverse-related services. The need to provide these premium services perfectly adapted to the needs of business and consumer customers cannot be conceived in any other way than in a framework based on interoperability. This It also means relying on the provision of common and simplified APIs through CAMERA, available to developer communities across major marketplaces. "The telecommunications sector today begins a path that presents challenges, but also many opportunities not only for itself, but for society, so it is the right path."

Santiago Tenorio, Director of Network Architecture at Vodafone, says: "Today's mobile networks have enormous capabilities that go far beyond basic connectivity. Open network APIs that take advantage of the power and scale of our network are an opportunity for true innovation. Vodafone provides its product creators and software engineers, as well as third-party developers and companies outside of Vodafone, access to these new software-driven capabilities to create important new services. Whether helping banks detecting unusual transactions, enabling safer flight paths for emergency drones or extending the battery life of smartphones, innovation is returning to the network."

Erik Ekudden, CTO & Senior Vice President of Ericsson, said: "We are delighted to be part of this collaboration and integrated live network demonstration, which unites the world of mobile networks with the global developer community. It is a paradigm shift that will place network functionality at the center of the enterprise's digital transformation. This will allow mobile operators to monetize 5G by exposing the network's advanced capabilities through easy-to-use APIs. With 5G, we have an innovation platform, unlike anything we have seen before, that together with the Vonage Communications Platform will create a global network platform capable of supporting operators in their growth ambitions."

Cloud gaming is the perfect showcase to demonstrate the potential of open network APIs. Standardized for all operators, easy to use and predictable in cost, they allow application developers to take control of the network's quality of service," says Olivier Avaro, CEO of Blacknut. "With more than 600 premium titles playable from the cloud, Blacknut not only needs a robust cloud streaming stack, but also an efficient network with the right bandwidth, latency, and jitter parameters. "Open network APIs give us the opportunity to control the end-to-end user experience and deliver a consistent, stable and superior gaming experience, even on the go."

Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering at Zoom, said: "We are delighted to join forces with Ericsson and global mobile service providers at Mobile application development services World Congress 2023 to demonstrate the seamless, high-quality delivery for Zoom Meeting users over on the fly, leveraging Ericsson's QoD open APIs to harness the benefits of 5G mobile networks."