Nokia network APIs available on Google Cloud Marketplace

In a significant development of the work it has done to date within the application programming interface (API) ecosystem it’s building with global communications operators, systems integrators, software developers and hyperscalers, Nokia has made three of its network APIs available on Google Cloud Marketplace.

The comms tech firm’s overall API strategy is to tap network capabilities and monetise network assets through the creation of new use cases for consumer, enterprise and industrial customers.

To make it easier for developers around the world to access the APIs to write applications that developer customers can use, it has now taken the Quality of Service on Demand, Number Verification and Device Location Verification products to the Google Cloud Marketplace, which offers a catalogue of services from Google Cloud and its partner ecosystem for customers to discover and use.

Nokia says developers can use the APIs exposed via Google Cloud Marketplace to tap into multiple mobile networks and create new applications, in conjunction with the capabilities provided by Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal, which is designed to give developers standardised access to network functions without having to navigate any of the underlying network technologies.

Through automation, the Quality of Service on demand API can ask a network for guaranteed and reliable connectivity for a specified amount of time, such as for a live stream at a large event with thousands of people.

Number Verification API can verify whether a phone number belongs to the person using it, allowing industries such as financial services and retail to mitigate fraud and enhance user verification. Device Location Verification can authenticate a commercial transaction request to a device owner, based on the owner’s phone location and the location from which the request is coming. Additional Nokia APIs are expected to be available on Google Cloud Marketplace in the future.

Nokia’s Network as Code with developer portal platform is set up to provide developers standardised access to network functions through APIs without having to navigate the underlying network technologies, allowing them to create APIs for tapping into 5G network capabilities such as quality of service on demand, device location precision and network slicing, as well as 4G capabilities.

It brings global networks, along with systems integrators and software developers, into a unified ecosystem, using technical standards produced through industry initiatives such as the GSMA Open Gateway and the Linux Foundation Camara, with which StarHub has been actively supporting industry efforts to define new technical standards for APIs to create new use cases for their customers.

The Network as Code ecosystem comprises more than 45 partners around the world, including BT, Orange, Telefonica and Telecom Argentina. In addition to Google Cloud, Nokia also partners with hyperscalers such as communications platform as a service providers – including Infobip – large system integrators and vertical independent software suppliers.

Shkumbin Hamiti, Nokia vice-president and head of network monetisation platform, cloud and network services, said: “The availability of Nokia APIs on Google Cloud Marketplace is about giving developers easy access and simplified use of trusted network intelligence. This is just the latest step in Nokia’s efforts to connect programmable network assets to a leading developer ecosystem.”

Muninder Singh Sambi, vice-president and general manager of networking and security at Google Cloud, said: “This collaboration with Nokia empowers developers and enterprises by delivering advanced telecom network capabilities directly through Google Cloud Marketplace.

“Making network APIs like Number Verification and Device Location Verification easily accessible unlocks new possibilities for secure, intelligent digital experiences, underscoring the value created when telco and cloud innovation converge.”