Telefónica and Nokia Collaborate to Boost Adoption of Network APIs

Nokia agreed to collaborate with Telefonica to produce standalone 5G-compatible services spanning consumer, enterprise, and industrial sectors. Telefonica will employ Nokia’s Network Exposure Function (NEF) and Network as Code platform in Spain and Germany.

Nokia explained NEF will enable the operator to offer developers access to features of its 5G network including precise device location, enhanced notifications based on connectivity status, edge discovery, and more. Cayetano Carbajo Martin, core and transport director, global CTIO at Telefonica, said the collaboration is about steering the industry in building new APIs and more use cases over SA 5G, along with giving developers the tools they require to do so.

Shkumbin Hamiti, head of Network Monetisation Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, said the industry is realising that sustained closed networks are a thing of the past and embracing ecosystems is the way forward for deepening collaboration and creating new use cases. Of course, it is also an opportunity for Nokia.

It stated it signed 14 operators and ecosystem agreements for its Network-as-Code platform since it launched in September 2023, while its deal with Telefonica is the third covering NEF and related API programs this month. The vendor is highlighting the use of 3GPP specifications in developing its exposure product, stating it provides a process for interfacing with well-defined functions in the core network and the ability to create new APIs by combining existing interfaces.