API

Network APIs expose telecom capabilities — such as quality of service, location, device status, and authentication — to developers and enterprises through standardized programmable interfaces. Industry initiatives including GSMA Open Gateway and the CAMARA project aim to make these capabilities consistent across operators, turning the network into a platform that applications can call directly. For operators, APIs represent a route to revenue beyond connectivity; for enterprises and developers, they offer programmable access to network features once locked inside carrier systems. Standards bodies including TM Forum and 3GPP continue to shape how these interfaces are defined and monetized. This channel tracks network API standards, operator and hyperscaler partnerships, monetization models, and real deployments, with analysis of where programmable networks are gaining commercial traction and where adoption still lags behind the ambition.

Fujitsu and NVIDIA expand full-stack AI infrastructure

Fujitsu and NVIDIA expand full-stack AI infrastructure
Fujitsu is expanding its strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to deliver a full-stack AI infrastructure that pairs domain-specific AI agents with high-performance compute for enterprise and industrial use. The companies will co-develop an AI agent platform and a next-generation computing stack that tightly couples Fujitsu’s FUJITSU-MONAKA CPU series with NVIDIA GPUs using NVIDIA NVLink-Fusion. On the software side, Fujitsu plans to integrate its Kozuchi platform and AI workload orchestrator (built with Fujitsu AI computing broker technology) with the NVIDIA Dynamo platform.

Why 95% of GenAI Pilots Fail to Scale Across Industries, Including Telecom

Is AI Underperforming in Telecom? Challenges, Use Cases & the Road Ahead
AI is everywhere in telecom, yet most pilots never make it into production because the industry’s data, tooling, and operating models are not ready for scaled automation. Recent industry research suggests that about 95% of AI pilots in telecom fail to scale beyond proofs of concept. Leaders are moving from pilots to platforms by embedding AI in the systems that run the business and anchoring every initiative to measurable outcomes. Telecom AI will not scale through pilots alone; it scales when embedded in the systems that run revenue, experience, and networks.

Zayo and Equinix Launch an AI Infrastructure Blueprint

Zayo and Equinix launch an AI Infrastructure Blueprint
AI now depends as much on the network and interconnection layer as it does on GPUs, and this blueprint turns that reality into a repeatable design. Training has concentrated in a few massive regions, while inference is exploding at the edge and in enterprise colocation sites, creating a scale challenge the industry hasn’t codified until now. Zayo and Equinix are proposing a common model that aligns high-capacity transport, neutral interconnection hubs, and specialized training and inference data centers. The aim is to shorten time to market for AI services by providing reference designs that reduce trial-and-error across L1–L3, interconnection, and traffic engineering.

Malaysia telcos federate GSMA Open Gateway Number Verification API

Malaysia telcos federate GSMA Open Gateway Number Verification API
Malaysia’s five mobile operators will federate a GSMA Open Gateway API to give banks and online retailers a consistent, cross-network tool to fight account takeovers and digital identity theft. CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, and YTL Communications plan to provide federated access to the GSMA Open Gateway Number Verification API, based on the CAMARA standard. The API verifies a user’s mobile number against real-time network attributes, offering a more secure, low-friction alternative to SMS one-time passwords. Network-anchored verification provides silent, possession-based authentication that reduces user friction and closes common OTP exploits. Developers can integrate once and reach all participating Malaysian networks while each operator retains control of data, policy, and monetization.

Databricks Integrates OpenAI GPT-5 in $100M AI Bet

Databricks Integrates OpenAI GPT-5 in $100M AI Bet
Databricks is adding OpenAI’s newest foundation models to its catalog for use via SQL or API, alongside previously introduced open-weight options gpt-oss 20B and 120B. Customers can now select, benchmark, and fine-tune OpenAI models directly where governed enterprise data already lives. The move raises the stakes in the race to make generative AI a first-class, governed workload inside data platforms rather than an external service tethered by integration and compliance gaps. For telecom and enterprise IT, it reduces friction for AI agents that must safely traverse customer, network, and operational data domains.

T-Mobile Names Srini Gopalan CEO to Drive 5G and AI

T-Mobile Names Srini Gopalan CEO to Drive 5G and AI
T-Mobile has set a clear handover plan that pairs continuity with a sharpened focus on digital, AI, and new growth vectors. Srini Gopalan, currently Chief Operating Officer, will become CEO of T-Mobile US, succeeding Mike Sievert. Sievert moves to a newly created Vice Chairman role, remaining on the management team and Board to advise on strategy, innovation, talent, and external relations. The structure signals operational continuity and a deliberate next phase for the Un-carrier playbook across wireless, broadband, and adjacent services. Expect Gopalan to intensify investments in AI across care, sales, and network operations.

AI $800B Revenue Gap: Compute, Power, and ROI: Bain Report

AI $800B Revenue Gap: Compute, Power, and ROI: Bain Report
New analysis from Bain & Company puts a stark number on AI’s economics: by 2030 the industry may face an $800 billion annual revenue shortfall against what it needs to fund compute growth. Bain estimates AI providers will require roughly $2 trillion in yearly revenue by 2030 to sustain data center capex, energy, and supply chain costs, yet current monetization trajectories leave a large gap. The report projects global incremental AI compute demand could reach 200 GW by 2030, colliding with grid interconnect queues, multiyear lead times for transformers, and rising energy prices.

Indonesia Telcos Telkomsel, IOH, and XLSMART API Alliance (CAMARA) Boosts Security

Indonesia Telco API Alliance (CAMARA) Boosts Security
Indonesia’s three leading mobile players - Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), and XLSMART -have formed a joint Telco API Alliance to standardize network-exposed APIs and harden the country’s digital ecosystem against fraud. The alliance commits all three operators to a common telco API protocol aligned with CAMARA, the open-source, Linux Foundation–hosted API project supported by the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. The initial roll-out centers on customer protection and fraud prevention—areas where network signals offer high value. SIM Swap detection flags recent SIM changes, a leading indicator of account takeover risk.

Malaysia 5G and AI Upskilling for Government by DNB and Ericsson

Malaysia 5G and AI Upskilling for Government by DNB and Ericsson
Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) and Ericsson have launched a national upskilling program to train 40,000 municipal and government employees in 5G, AI, IoT and automation, signaling a shift from network build to service delivery readiness. Malaysia’s 5G footprint is expanding and the country is positioning for AI-led growth by 2030. Infrastructure alone will not unlock outcomes. Cities and agencies need people who can specify, procure, secure and operate digital services at scale. This initiative targets the execution gap by training frontline staff and policy makers on how to translate connectivity into citizen services, operational efficiency and data-driven decisions.

Siemens and TRUMPF unify IT/OT for AI-ready manufacturing

Siemens and TRUMPF unify IT/OT for AI-ready manufacturing
Siemens and TRUMPF are aligning digital platforms and machine-tool expertise to tackle the long-standing integration gap between enterprise IT and shop-floor OT—laying groundwork for AI-enabled, software-defined manufacturing. The partnership centers on open, interoperable interfaces that connect CNCs, robots, sensors, and enterprise systems without brittle, bespoke integrations. Digital twins of machines and lines—paired with standardized interfaces—let teams test control logic, validate process changes, and train AI models before they hit the floor. The companies are positioning their combined ecosystem as a credible path to “AI readiness” for motion-centric operations where latency, determinism, and safety are non-negotiable. An edge-first data fabric can normalize time-series, vision, and event data for low-latency decisions, while cloud services handle training and fleet-scale analytics.

Lumen RapidRoutes 100G/400G Wavelengths with 20-Day Delivery SLA

Lumen RapidRoutes 100G/400G Wavelengths with 20-Day Delivery SLA
Lumen has introduced Wavelength RapidRoutes, a pre-engineered 100G/400G service with a 20-day delivery SLA aimed at removing months-long bottlenecks from enterprise and hyperscaler connectivity. The company is packaging pre-defined, high-demand optical paths as a catalog of ready-to-deploy waves, removing custom design cycles from many standard routes. Lumen’s RapidRoutes offers 100G and up to 400G wavelength services on prioritized intercity routes with an industry-forward 20-day service delivery SLA, shifting the customer experience from quote-engineer-build to select-provision-activate on pre-engineered paths. A portal-enabled experience with AI-driven tools and more than 300 automated workflows underpins ordering, change management, and capacity scaling.

Apple enterprise AI controls for ChatGPT

Apple enterprise AI controls for ChatGPT
Apple's fall software updates introduce admin-grade switches to govern how corporate users access ChatGPT and other external AI services across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Apple is enabling IT teams to explicitly allow or block the use of an enterprise-grade ChatGPT within Apple Intelligence, with a design that treats OpenAI as one of several possible external providers. Practically, that means admins can set policy to route requests either to Apples own stack or to a sanctioned third-party provider, and disable external routing entirely when required.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GSMA Open Gateway, and why was it created?
GSMA Open Gateway is an industry-wide initiative, backed by the GSMA, the trade body representing mobile operators globally, and dozens of major carriers, designed to standardize network APIs across operators and countries. Before this initiative, a company wanting to use a SIM swap detection API to prevent account-takeover fraud would typically need separate technical integrations and commercial agreements with every carrier in every market it operated in, an approach that didn’t scale well for global digital businesses like banks or ride-sharing platforms. Open Gateway defines a common technical specification for these APIs so a single integration works consistently across participating operators worldwide, dramatically reducing the engineering and business development overhead for any company wanting to build services on top of carrier network data.
Why do telecom companies want to expose network APIs to outside developers?
Exposing network APIs gives carriers a new revenue stream that doesn’t depend on selling more raw data or voice minutes, an increasingly commoditized, low-margin business. Instead, operators can charge for premium, differentiated capabilities, like verified caller identity for fraud prevention, real-time network quality guarantees for a specific application, or device location data for logistics and delivery tracking, turning the network itself into a monetizable platform. This mirrors a broader strategic shift across the industry, often summarized as moving from selling bandwidth to selling outcomes, where operators position themselves as infrastructure partners for other industries’ digital products rather than purely as connectivity providers competing on price. It also opens partnerships with software companies that wouldn’t otherwise have a direct commercial relationship with an operator at all.
What are some real-world examples of telecom network APIs in use today?
Some of the most established use cases include number verification, used heavily by banking and fintech apps to confirm a user genuinely controls the phone number tied to their account before allowing a transaction; SIM swap detection, which flags when a phone number has recently been transferred to a new SIM, a common signal of an account-takeover attempt; and location APIs, used by logistics and delivery companies for real-time tracking, or by other services for geofencing-based features. Newer, more specialized examples are emerging too, including quality-on-demand APIs that let an application request guaranteed network performance for a specific session, useful for video calls or cloud gaming, effectively giving developers programmatic access to capabilities like network slicing without negotiating a direct deal with the underlying carrier.
How do network APIs relate to network slicing and monetization?
Network slicing creates the actual underlying capability, a dedicated, performance-guaranteed virtual network for a specific purpose, while network APIs are often the mechanism by which a third-party developer actually requests and uses that capability programmatically, without needing to understand or manage the underlying slicing infrastructure directly. A quality-on-demand API, for example, might let a video conferencing app request guaranteed low latency for an important call, with that request fulfilled behind the scenes by the operator’s slicing infrastructure. This pairing is central to how operators are trying to monetize their 5G Standalone investments: slicing creates differentiated network capabilities, and APIs are the commercial and technical interface that makes those capabilities accessible and billable to outside developers.
What’s stopping network APIs from being adopted faster?
Adoption has been slower than initial industry enthusiasm suggested, for a few recurring reasons. Developers building global products need consistent behavior across operators and countries, and while standardization initiatives like Open Gateway aim to solve this, achieving true consistency across dozens of carriers, each with their own legacy systems and commercial priorities, takes time. There’s also a chicken-and-egg dynamic: developers are hesitant to build products around APIs that aren’t yet universally available, while operators are cautious about investing heavily in API infrastructure without proven developer demand. Pricing adds another layer of friction, since operators are still experimenting with how to price access in a way that’s attractive to developers while still generating meaningful revenue relative to infrastructure cost.
Who are the typical customers building on top of telecom network APIs?
Customers span a range of industries, but financial services and fraud prevention have been the earliest and most consistent adopters, using number verification and SIM swap detection to reduce account-takeover and transaction fraud. Logistics, delivery, and ride-sharing companies are major users of location-based APIs for real-time tracking and route optimization. Gaming and entertainment companies are increasingly interested in quality-on-demand APIs to guarantee performance for latency-sensitive applications like cloud gaming. Beyond individual companies, aggregator platforms have emerged specifically to combine APIs from multiple operators into a single access point, letting developers integrate once and reach users across many carriers and countries without managing separate relationships with each one.
Are network APIs secure, and who controls access to sensitive data like location?
Security and access control are central design considerations for network APIs, given the sensitive nature of data like location or SIM status. Access is generally tightly controlled through authentication and authorization systems, and most operators only expose specific, limited capabilities through these APIs rather than raw access to underlying network or subscriber data. Consent mechanisms are also typically built in, particularly for anything involving an individual’s location or personal data, often requiring an explicit user opt-in before that data can be shared with a third-party application. This remains an evolving area, and as more operators expose more capabilities through these interfaces, regulators and privacy advocates are paying closer attention to how consent is obtained across different countries with different privacy law standards.
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