Telcos leading the development of mobile network APIs must set strategies now to scale the market beyond the first wave of customers and use cases. We explore three potential pathways for growth: courting new customers, creating new capabilities and a combination of both.

The next phase of mobile network API growth

The telco industry has been exploring the potential of mobile network APIs for more than two years, but little progress has been seen in use cases beyond the financial services sector where the focus has been specifically placed on anti-fraud solutions.

In this report, we explore how operators can build towards the broader market potential through three approaches to develop the next set of APIs and use cases

If you are not a subscriber, enter your details below to download an extract of the report

Mobile network APIs will generate USD34 billion globally by 2030, of which ~40% will be driven by digital identity APIs

Global network API revenue, by API (identity)

SIM Swap, Number Verification and OTP Validation account for around 70% of GSMA launches (N=183)

If you are not a subscriber, enter your details below to download an extract of the report

Key successes focus on anti-fraud use cases – operators globally are launching services, but it’s still early days

• Infobip
  • Partnership with TIM, Vivo and Claro in Brazil launched early 2024
  • Uses three APIs – Number verification, SIM Swap and Device Location Verification – to conduct verification
  • 0.5 million calls per day across > 90 customers for anti-fraud/fraudulent payments
• Singtel
  • Singtel launched SingVerify in March 2024 to combat scam calls
  • Alongside number verification and location APIs, it has launched the Scam Sniffer API to detect whether users are on lengthy calls during transactions
  • Early stages of raising awareness – but has some big customers on board: Tiger Brokers, IPification
• Telkomsel
  • Developed solution called Telco Verify
  • Uses Number Verification to check identity of user, alongside existing methods such as 2FA/OTP
  • Aims to reduce authentication burden/risk for online accounts and banking, as cyberattacks increase

Telcos can consider three pathways to define the next set of APIs and use cases beyond the ‘entry-level API market’

• Although there remain significant challenges around achieving global coverage and industry-wide collaboration on anti-fraud use cases, leading players in the mobile network API market have begun to demonstrate their value to early customers.
• To sustain executive-level commitment to developing API-based services, the market must demonstrate the ability to monetise and scale beyond anti-fraud use cases into new capabilities and new customer segments – or both.
• Importantly, each approach will depend on different partners. For instance:
  • Aduna is best-positioned to enable telcos to reach new customer segments with established APIs (option 1).
  • Nokia’s Network as Code is geared towards enabling telcos to develop new APIs (e.g., in Quality on Demand or slicing) for new markets (option 3).

 

 

If you are not a subscriber, enter your details below to download an extract of the report

Table of contents

• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Capability expansion
• Customer expansion
• API innovation

Related research

• Telecom network evolution forecast: A platform approach to monetising 5G
• Network API monetisation forecast 2023–2030: Growth beyond anti-fraud
• How well do telcos work together?
• An investment quandary: How AI is redefining enterprise connectivity

---