2 weeks Ago
Harrison Lung is the Group Chief Strategy Officer of e&. He oversees strategy, M&A, venture capital, transformation and sustainability. For years, telcos have operated within closed ecosystems, but today we are seeing a seismic shift.
Open networks are providing new opportunities for both innovation and monetization, and enhancing customer experiences in ways we hadn’t imagined before. At the Mobile World Congress, this evolution from being mere enablers of communication to dynamic innovation was clear to me. With open access to network capabilities, operators are providing businesses with the tools to create, scale and deliver future-ready digital services.
And the opportunity is sizeable, with McKinsey estimating that the network API market could unlock around $100 billion to $300 billion in connectivity and edge-computing-related revenue for operators, generating an additional $10 billion to $30 billion from APIs over the next five to seven years. However, reaching this will require telcos to rethink some of their traditional ways of operating. In addition to faster speeds and broader coverage, this shift is about empowering developers, entrepreneurs and industries to leverage unique network features like real-time data, security and quality of service (QoS), the measure of a network’s ability to deliver a certain level of speed, performance and experience.
Take application-to-person (A2P) messaging, which highlights how opening networks can drive greater efficiency by enabling seamless, scalable communication between businesses and customers. By allowing access to advanced network features, telcos can enhance the customer experience, ensuring more transparent and personalized interactions. It’s an exciting time with enormous opportunities.
So, how can the industry continue to innovate in this new era of openness? Let’s explore. This evolution is not without precedent. The telecom industry was instrumental in enabling mobile internet in the 3G era and later fueling the rise of the app economy with 4G.
Yet, while networks provided the foundation, much of the monetization was captured by over-the-top (OTT) and digital-native players. So, as we scale 5G, there’s an opportunity to take a different path—one that ensures telecom operators capture a fair share of the value. The key lies in opening the network to a broader ecosystem, including developers and independent software vendors (ISVs), who are best positioned to build the next wave of innovation.
By enabling deeper collaboration through APIs, network-as-a-service models and developer-friendly platforms, we can move beyond simply providing connectivity and become active enablers of digital innovation. More than increasing revenues, this shift is about growing the entire ecosystem in a way that is sustainable for everyone. And in doing so, we can reshape the telecom industry’s role in the digital economy, transforming networks into platforms that drive long-term value creation.
The question now is, how fast can we make this shift, and who will lead the way? The telecom industry is witnessing other strategic initiatives that are driving innovation in open networks. One such initiative, GSMA Open Gateway, aims to unlock new ways of monetizing network assets by giving developers access to unique network capabilities, such as QoS and device status. By providing these capabilities through open APIs, operators can empower developers to create a new generation of digital services that leverage the power of the network in ways never before possible.
For this initiative to succeed at scale, operators must work together to provide developers with universal access, ensuring that applications can be built and deployed seamlessly across networks worldwide. This is precisely the goal of the GSMA Open Gateway and the driving force behind e&’s participation in this strategic initiative. By joining forces with other industry leaders, we can accelerate the adoption of open networks and establish a framework for sustainable, long-term growth.
CAMARA, another open-source project under the Linux Foundation, develops standardized APIs that streamline access to telco networks. Working closely with the GSMA's Operator Platform Group, it ensures API harmonization across networks, transforming them into dynamic platforms for developers. This enables seamless application integration, unlocking new possibilities for personalized, high-performance digital experiences in the 5G era.
The industry has a unique opportunity to redefine its role in the digital era, evolving from connectivity providers to central drivers of innovation. The next chapter of this transformation will be written by those who embrace openness, foster collaboration and empower developers to unlock the full potential of 5G and beyond. To ensure the success of this transformation, simplicity and universal access to operator networks are paramount.
Developers must be able to easily access network APIs, enabling them to quickly and seamlessly develop and deploy their applications through a single point of access. For developers creating global collaboration platforms and businesses with transnational operations, it’s crucial that their services are available to all customers across operators, whether locally or globally. This necessitates cooperation not only between network operators worldwide but also among competitors within the same market.
Only through such collaboration can this initiative scale and achieve its full potential. As we look to the future, network APIs, combined with the power of 5G, mark the beginning of a paradigm shift that will place the network at the heart of digital transformation, fundamentally changing the way we live and do business. The road ahead is clear: Embracing open networks is another crucial piece in the puzzle, one that will fuel innovation and ultimately redefine how we interact with the digital world.
I believe those who lead the charge in this new era of openness will set the stage for the next wave of growth and opportunity. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?.
