Ericsson and Major Telcos Join Forces on API Venture

Ericsson announced the formation of a joint venture to sell software with twelve telcos including Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom.

The purpose of the venture is to “combine and sell network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on a global scale to spur innovation in digital services,” according to Ericsson. Ericsson will own 50% of the venture, with the rest divided among the telcos.

These types of efforts are not new, but Ericsson is stressing broad-based access for developer platforms for hyperscalers and independent software vendors.

"The new company accelerates our leading work with MagentaBusiness APIs to expose our network capabilities for customers and developers," said Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom. "We believe that this company will open up new monetization opportunities for the industry. We encourage and look forward to more telecom operators joining us to expand and develop this ecosystem."

"Broad ecosystem"

The joint company will provide network APIs to a "broad ecosystem" of developer platforms, including hyperscalers (HCPs), Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) providers, System Integrators (SIs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), based on existing industry-wide CAMARA APIs (the open-source project driven by the GSMA and the Linux Foundation).

Vonage and Google Cloud will also partner with the new company, providing access to their ecosystems of millions of developers as well as their partners. "The new venture shareholders will bring funding and important assets, including Ericsson’s platform and network expertise, global telecom operator relationships, knowledge of the developer community and each telecom operator’s network APIs, expertise and marketing," said Ericsson.