Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom have teamed up to offer developers and enterprises a platform full of communications and network APIs.
The network APIs allow enterprises to integrate 5G capabilities – such as speed, latency, and Quality on Demand - into their business applications.
As a result, the two network providers will allow businesses to accelerate digitalization and improve end-user experiences.
"Wireless networks have been key in digitalizing consumers," adds Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson. "With the capabilities of 5G, enterprises can now leverage mobility as well to transform their businesses.
Through network APIs, developers and enterprises get easy access to the advanced capabilities of the network to develop entirely new use cases.
To create this platform, Ericsson utilized the CPaaS solutions it secured as part of the acquisition of Vonage, which it completed in 2022.
Yet, if Ericsson only wanted CPaaS, it could have snapped up more of a pure-play provider, such as Sinch or Infobip. Doing so would have cost much less money than $6.2BN.
So, why Vonage? The likely reason is that Ericsson recognizes the potential of these network APIs to bolster Vonage's broader portfolio. Here’s how it may just do that.
Vonage Can Differentiate Through Mobility
The API platform Ericsson has created holds significant potential to improve the performance of over-the-top (OTT) smartphone applications.
For instance, consider how consumers use these apps to communicate. CPaaS technology enables such communication. However, the quality of the conversations that take place on them is often unreliable due to poor network connections.
A classic example is the UCaaS applications employees download onto their smartphones, with users struggling to converse with colleagues on the go.
Over the past year or so, stalwarts in this space have strengthened their operator relationships to circumvent this issue.
For instance, Microsoft joined forces with Verizon to release a Teams Mobile integration. Meanwhile, Cisco teamed up with AT&T to launch a similar service: Webex Go.
These innovations have helped, leveraging dual-sims and coordinating network contracts. Nonetheless, mobility remains an issue across UCaaS platforms.
Thankfully, these new network APIs may prove a game-changer.
Indeed, Vonage will likely now plug these network APIs into the back end of its solution and manage the entire network experience.
As a result, it may increase the mobility of its OTT Vonage Business Communications app.