The success of numerous innovative mobile applications can be traced to the availability of mobile Software Development Kits (SDKs). SDKs are available for both iOS and Android mobile platforms. These SDKs provide open tools, libraries, and documentation that allow application developers to easily create mobile applications that rely upon the capabilities of existing mobile platforms (such as notifications and analytics) and device hardware (like GPS and camera.). Most importantly, these two mobile platforms alone currently support over four billion users. The next step is to use the same principles on the network side by using Open APIs that allow unified access to network capabilities for increased network exposure.
The concept of network exposure is not new. There have been a few less-than-successful attempts in the past, such as Service Capabilities Exposure Function (SCEF) and APIs for the IMS/Voice. These solutions were not able to scale sufficiently to attract a significant number of application developers. The specifications have been too complicated for anybody outside of the telecom world to understand or implement. The integration of network exposure into the 5G design is groundbreaking. API exposure is now fundamental to 5G and is natively built into the architecture, enabling applications to seamlessly interact with the network.
Monetizing mobile networks using Open APIs relies on the implementation of communication APIs for voice, video, and messaging, as well as network APIs for location, authentication, and quality of service. By exposing these capabilities through Open APIs, CSPs can establish partnerships by facilitating the creation of tailored, high-value services for businesses, thereby enabling them to monetize 5G beyond traditional connectivity and bundled offerings. These new revenue streams are paramount as the traditional revenue streams from mobile broadband services are flat while costs continue to rise. Moreover, the deployment of a cloud-native 5G standalone network requires substantial investments, making it crucial to identify new revenue streams that can justify the business case.