Finnish telecom giant Nokia has joined hands with Bharti Airtel to make the telecom operator’s advanced network capabilities accessible to third-party developers. This strategic collaboration aims to help developers create innovative technology solutions while opening up new monetization opportunities across multiple sectors.
Following successful trials, Airtel's network APIs (Application Programming Interface) will be offered on a subscription basis to a well-established ecosystem of developers, system integrators, and enterprises using Nokia's Network as Code platform, the company confirmed in a statement.
"We are happy to partner with Nokia today for network APIs and enable the ecosystem to leverage our network capabilities for automation and building secure and innovative digital services," said Airtel Business CEO Sharat Sinha.
This move allows the developer community to harness Airtel’s 5G, AI, edge computing, and other advanced network capabilities to build cutting-edge digital solutions efficiently and securely.
The collaboration provides developers and enterprises with access to Airtel’s extensive pan-India network assets, creating opportunities for monetization and enabling innovative use cases across different industry verticals.
"Network APIs allow operators to virtualize parts of their networks and provide tailored data and features to developers," the statement explained. This capability ensures developers can build applications that are customized to meet specific business needs while leveraging Airtel’s robust network infrastructure.
"This strategic partnership will provide developers and enterprises alike access to Airtel's extensive pan-India network assets, creating new monetization opportunities and innovative use cases that will span multiple industry verticals," the companies said.
According to Arvind Khurana, Head of Cloud and Network Services for India at Nokia, "Our partnership with Airtel represents a significant step in expanding the Network as Code ecosystem. It demonstrates our commitment to helping telecommunications providers monetize their network investments while fostering innovation in the developer community."
Nokia’s Network as Code platform already boasts a global ecosystem of more than 60 partners, including telecom providers, AI and data center customers, Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) providers, systems integrators, and independent software vendors serving multiple industry verticals.
Developers will now be able to leverage Airtel’s 5G network, edge computing, AI, and automation capabilities to create secure, innovative, and scalable digital services.
The subscription-based model allows developers and enterprises to monetize their applications and services, utilizing Airtel’s network as a foundation for revenue growth.
By opening network capabilities through APIs, Airtel and Nokia aim to stimulate innovation across industries, including fintech, healthcare, logistics, smart cities, and media.
Conclusion
The Airtel-Nokia partnership marks a pivotal step in India’s telecom ecosystem, demonstrating how advanced network capabilities can empower developers to create solutions that drive innovation and revenue growth. This collaboration is expected to accelerate digital transformation in India, providing businesses with the tools to scale efficiently while exploring new opportunities in emerging technologies.