Nokia, Airtel Open Network APIs to Developers in Platform Monetization Push
The tie-up turns parts of Airtel’s network into programmable services, giving developers subscription-based access to infrastructure and performance data.
News
- Nexus Closes Eighth Fund at $700 Million for Early-Stage Bets in India and US
- Amazon to Pump $12.7 Billion into India’s AI and Cloud Expansion
- Anthropic Debuts Interviewer Tool to Understand How People Really Use AI
- IPL Tops Google’s Search List for 2025 as AI Breaks Into India’s Top 10
- TeamLease Names Suparna Mitra MD & CEO in Leadership Overhaul
- Apple Loses Top UI Designer as Alan Dye Joins Meta
Nokia on Thursday tied up with Bharti Airtel Ltd to give third-party developers and enterprise customers access to Airtel’s network capabilities through Nokia’s Network as Code platform, the Finnish vendor said.
The arrangement follows trials between the companies and will enable developers, system integrators and businesses to subscribe to Airtel’s network APIs through Nokia’s developer portal.
Nokia said the move will allow builders to create digital services that tap Airtel’s national infrastructure and features such as AI, 5G and edge-computing, while offering the operator new monetisation streams.
The exposure of core network functions through APIs is gaining traction in global telecom markets, as operators seek to convert parts of their networks from quality-of-service controls to location capabilities into programmable services rather than static infrastructure.
Nokia said such “network as code” models help developers tailor performance, security and data behavior to specific applications, while opening up incremental revenue avenues for carriers.
Sharat Sinha, CEO of Airtel Business, said the agreement brings “the ecosystem together to collaborate for future-ready innovations,” and would let partners use Airtel’s network assets to automate workflows and create secure digital services.
Arvind Khurana, who heads cloud and network services for Nokia in India, said the tie-up marks “a significant step in expanding the Network as Code ecosystem,” and reflects efforts to help telecom operators “monetize their network investments while fostering innovation in the developer community.”
Nokia added that its platform now involves more than 60 partners globally, spanning telecom carriers, AI and data center providers, CPaaS players, system integrators and independent software vendors. The platform standardizes access to network functions and offers multiple API frameworks, along with multi-tier security controls.
Airtel’s network APIs will be sold on a subscription basis after pilots, giving developers nationwide reach over India’s largest integrated communications provider, the press release said.
Airtel operates across India and Africa with more than 600 million customers, and offers businesses services spanning connectivity, data centers, cloud, cybersecurity, IoT and digital communications.
Nokia said the Network as Code platform is designed to simplify application development by abstracting away complexity in the underlying network technologies while accelerating digital-service creation.
