The applications used by people and businesses today run over the top of the network. That is, they use the network to transmit data from one point to another but don’t interact with the network in any way.

As those applications get more advanced, that comes with a risk. If the network isn’t provisioned adequately, a self-driving car, for instance, might suddenly lose connectivity and freeze in the middle of an intersection.

That’s why developers are progressively realizing they’re going to require more from the network if they are to create revolutionary new applications. But the catch is they’re also not network specialists.

Instead, they yearn for quick and simple ways to tap into and onboard 5G network capabilities within their applications — to dynamically adjust connectivity speeds based on real-time conditions, for example. That’s where network application programming interfaces (APIs) enter the picture.

In 2023, the telecoms industry committed to unprecedented levels of openness with the announcement of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative and the growing popularity of the CAMARA project.

In 2024, there is an expectation that there could be even more momentum around and demand for open network APIs as developers start to get real access to them — and begin to explore the potential of leveraging specialized network capabilities, delivered through techniques such as network slicing for their enterprise and consumer applications.

What are Network APIs and How Will They Be Used?

A network API is like any other API that allows for two or more applications to communicate with each other. It’s just that, in this case, one of those applications is the network itself.

This is possible because today’s cloud-native 5G networks are fundamentally software-based, meaning they are also programmable through APIs and other software development tools. So unlike the networks of years ago, which were more hardware-dependent and closed in nature, developers can now get easy access to deep functionality and data within the network.

Through a network API, applications and networks can share information about their status and needs, allowing for optimizations to be made on either side. The network could signal to a drone or autonomous vehicle where other related devices are operating or whether congestion is likely to occur in a given area, enabling on-the-fly route changes to maintain optimal performance. Or the application could use that information to request specialized capabilities from the network in certain situations, such as low-latency connectivity or more uplink capacity.

The ability to deploy specialized network capabilities for specific applications in specific locations may sound familiar. It’s essentially the promise of network slicing, which was promoted heavily in the early days of 5G rollouts but never really caught on as expected.

This is largely because network slices have to be planned for and provisioned well in advance — a dealbreaker for applications that need to manipulate parameters such as quality of service based on real-time conditions.

Network APIs change that, providing access to specialized network capabilities in a dynamic, automated way — whether by spinning up a network slice or through the use of other telecommunications tools. The emerging applications of tomorrow will increasingly require such specialized network capabilities.

Consider beyond visual line of sight (BVLS) drones that are operated remotely by a person hundreds of kilometers away. As the drone travels, it will need different network capabilities at different parts of the journey based on the unique conditions it encounters along the way.

Deutsche Telekom has been working to deploy network APIs for this very scenario, which includes APIs for location verification (for more precise tracking of the drone’s position) as well as “quality on demand,” so that as it passes over highly congested areas where thousands of people are also using up network capacity, the drone can get greater prioritization to ensure it doesn’t fall out of the sky.

That’s just one potential use case. Network APIs can open up innovations for industrial robots, real-time streaming of immersive video using multiple cameras, latency-sensitive applications like VR and cloud gaming, and much more.

Creating a Network-Powered System Ecosystem

APIs can help foster a network-powered ecosystem of digital innovation that brings benefits to everybody involved. By being able to leverage specialized network capabilities on demand, developers can create innovative applications and experiences for their customers — transforming their ideas into real solutions.

Existing applications can also be enhanced for better performance, such as drones that can reliably transmit high-definition video from any location and under any circumstances to improve the situational awareness of first responders and public safety agencies.

For the communication service providers (CSPs) who operate the networks, these APIs will help deliver a better return on investment for their 5G infrastructure. Revenue growth for traditional communications services in both the consumer and enterprise markets is limited by an unwillingness to pay more for those services and the perception that value lies in the applications rather than the network.

Thus, the need for CSPs to develop new revenue streams has never been greater. By charging developers for access to the network APIs — and by forging closer connections to the applications that will use the capabilities within the network — CSPs will be better able to generate monetizable value from their networks.

What’s Ahead for Network APIs

APIs have been around for more than two decades. The fundamental principles of network slicing have been talked about since the introduction of 4G. While these technologies have been around for years, they will come together in exciting new ways in 2024, enabling entirely new possibilities.

In the year ahead, there will likely be a greater demand for specialized network capabilities among application developers. That demand will be driven by early digital adopters in industries such as oil and gas, automotive, industrial and high-tech manufacturing, public safety, security, gaming and entertainment, and others.

But it’s important to note that no one company can make all this work. There needs an ecosystem of companies coming together. Developers need to demand it, and CSPs need to build systems and platforms to support it.

Infrastructure vendors will play a role as well, with network as code platforms to provide easy access to network APIs — serving as the bridge that enables greater levels of collaboration, innovation and mutual growth so everybody can harness the full potential of 5G networks.