Telecom gear maker Ericsson on Wednesday said it is stepping up its focus on Network application programming interfaces (APIs) at its India R&D centres that will allow new and existing industry sectors to utilise the advanced capabilities of telecommunications networks.

“Today, even as service providers are delivering the benefits of 5G to consumers and enterprises, they have an opportunity to transform the network into a platform for innovation by making advanced 5G network capabilities available to the global developer community through open network APIs,” the company said.

For example, capabilities such as quality on demand and network slicing can be made available through programmatic interfaces. High-performing, open, programmable networks that utilise 5G standalone (SA) architecture provide new opportunities for service innovation and open up possibilities for performance-based business models, it said.

Partnering with CSPs

“Ericsson has been a partner to Indian communication service providers (CSPs) through generations of connectivity. Ericsson has partnered with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio for their 5G rollout and most recently announced its 4G and 5G RAN contract with Vodafone-Idea (Vi). We look forward to helping Vi seamlessly introduce 5G and in supporting Airtel in its transition to a full-scale 5G SA network,” Andres Vicente, Head of South-East Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, said.

The synergy of high-performance and programmable networks, combined with network APIs and a vibrant ecosystem of developers, will create a powerful network effect of growth and innovation, he said.

The R&D teams will work on developing programmable/API capabilities to support simplified and secure network interfaces and advanced use cases, including device management, security and fraud detection, he added.

Engineering teams at Ericsson R&D sites in Chennai, Bengaluru and Gurugram work across telecom domains spanning transport, packet core, OSS, BSS, cloud and advanced AI technologies. The Ericsson 6G Research teams in India are working on several advanced technologies such as intent-based autonomous telecom networks, trustworthy AI, sustainable AI and advanced generative AI capabilities, the company said.