Despite a slow start, mobile network APIs offer a strong growth opportunity of USD31bn by 2030, STL Partners predicts in latest forecast
3 min read- Mobile network APIs present a USD31 billion global revenue opportunity for the telecom industry by 2030
- Although the opportunity has shrunk owing to delayed API launches, the long-term opportunity remains strong
- The decline from delayed launches has been partially offset by the inclusion of five new APIs and 10 new use cases in latest STL Partners forecast
- Identity APIs remain the largest driver of revenues, as operators grow their share of the existing anti-fraud market
LONDON – 20 August 2025 – Mobile network APIs could unlock global revenues of USD31 billion for the telecom industry by the end of the decade, signalling a strong opportunity despite initial launch delays, according to STL Partners’ latest data.
In its ‘Mobile network API monetisation forecast 2024–2030’ update, the research and consulting company has revised its outlook until 2030, down 8% from the USD34 billion in revenue expected in last year’s forecast, reflecting delays in API launches. However, STL Partners believes that the long-term opportunity remains strong.
“Although the industry has been slower than anticipated in launching APIs, we believe that solid proof points in early-mover markets will enable other regions to catch up quickly. For example, TikTok has been enthusiastic about using Number Verification in Brazil – and we expect the company to adopt the API quickly as it becomes available in other countries”, explains Amy Cameron, research director at STL Partners.
Figure 1: Mobile network API monetisation forecast by API family, 2024–2030
According to the analyst powerhouse’s findings, identity APIs remain the largest driver of revenues, projected to grow from just under USD3 billion in 2025 to USD12 billion by 2030. This increase is set to come from the expected growth in operator share of the existing anti-fraud market currently addressed by communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) players.
The next biggest opportunity is in location APIs, exposing network-derived information to tap into anti-fraud markets or to compete with GPS. STL Partners forecasts location API revenues to reach USD7 billion globally by 2030.
To commercialise identity and location APIs, telcos are likely to work closely with aggregators, given the need for cross-market coverage. Therefore, STL Partners forecasts aggregators to claim more than USD5 billion of revenues from those two API families by 2030, accounting for nearly a third (28%) of the total opportunity.
Looking ahead to the long-term opportunity, the research company expects APIs focused on device information and network performance to become important growth drivers. STL Partners projects these to reach USD4.3 billion and USD5.3 billion in revenues, respectively, by 2030.
Besides anti-fraud, which is the leading use case for identity and location APIs, STL Partners forecasts the next most valuable use cases to be in advertising and marketing, autonomous vehicles, IoT, enterprise IT, and entertainment and content distribution.
“Operators should consider some network APIs as their own IP and pursue direct channels there to retain a larger share of the revenue. These types of APIs – including Quality on Demand and Network performance information – are often more complex to deliver due to them exposing a capability that instructs or changes the network. Given this complexity, an important part of the telco IP will be integrating the APIs into broader enterprise solutions – for example, for autonomous vehicles or content distribution”, suggests Cameron.
Discover more insights from the forecast here.
For media enquiries, click here to get in touch with our team.
STL Partners is a leading research and consulting company that focuses on the telecom industry and adjacent markets by helping telcos and their partners innovate, grow and stay ahead of the competition.
