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AT&T said it will open up capabilities to developers and enterprises through network APIs
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An analyst expects AT&T will follow T-Mobile's lead in opening up video capabilities via open APIs
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Expect the operator to get ahead of the various groups promoting open 5G API efforts
AT&T said recently that it is making good on the promise of open application programming interfaces (APIs) that could enable developers to create applications that work across 5G and other networks.
Igal Elbaz, SVP and network CTO at AT&T said in a blog that now the 5G network is standalone and runs on a cloud native platform it is time to innovate via open APIs.
“Our next step will be to embed capabilities that will be exposed by and made accessible through network APIs to businesses and developers – all without need for network expertise on their part or additional infrastructure spend on ours,” Elbaz said.
Our sister publication Fierce Wireless has covered the struggle with standards that moving to open APIs will precipitate, but Silverlinings wondered what kind of applications might spring up as developers and enterprises got their hands into AT&T’s network.
So we asked Leonard Lee, neXt Curve analyst and open API guru what he thought.
“Regarding the first types of network services that AT&T would provide would likely be similar to what T-Mobile is doing but across their wireless and wireline/fiber networks for video conferencing,” the analyst told us in an email reply to questions.
The need to support wired and wireless networks will “require AT&T to take more of a converged approach to their API strategy that would involve a middleware type layer to deliver the networks services across a heterogenous portfolio of network infrastructures and systems,” Lee said.
He noted that the operator is “fully supportive” of TM Forum’s Open API conventions as well as GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative and Project Camara but expected that AT&T will move before the trade and standards groups do. “It’s likely that they won’t be waiting for the standards to be 'finalized' before they make their foray into exposing their network via developer APIs,” he said.
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