Network APIs: How Telcos Can Avoid Repeating History

In recent years, telcos have watched as OTT players have captured much of the value they themselves generate. Now, with Network APIs, they have a new opportunity to reclaim that ground. But the key question is: will they be fast enough to seize it, or will they fall behind once again?

According to McKinsey, Network APIs could generate between $100 billion and $300 billion in revenue over the next 5 to 7 years. But these numbers only matter if telcos can move at market speed. And here lies the problem: many are still trapped in the old cycle of searching for the perfect use case before making a move.

The Big Mistake: Wasting Time Chasing a Silver Bullet That Never Arrives

The market doesn’t wait. While some telcos are still debating whether the opportunity is real or whether the business case makes sense, others are already capturing the value. We’ve seen this story unfold too many times—first with SMS, then with pay TV, and more recently with cloud services.
If the strategy continues to be waiting for “the perfect business case” instead of eliminating technical debt and API-fying network elements, telcos are doomed to repeat history. Margins are tight, that’s true, but time is running out, and the windows of opportunity are getting shorter.
Every day a telco hesitates, a more agile organization with a lighter technical and cultural structure is already seizing the opportunity. If telcos don’t API-fy their infrastructure now, they will once again be relegated to being the expensive backend of businesses that others monetize more effectively. And by the time they decide to act, the market will already be controlled by intermediaries who will take a significant share of the revenue.

Telecommunications: Competing for Value in a World That Runs on Connectivity

Telecommunications sit at the core of every major industry, yet telcos often find themselves treated as mere utilities, while others capture the real value. Whether it’s AI, crypto economies, or automation, none of these innovations exist without fast, secure, and reliable connectivity.
System integrators play a key role in this transformation—there’s too much to do for anyone to go at it alone. But the real challenge isn’t whether to work with them, but how. If telcos don’t define the rules of engagement, they risk losing control of their own business, watching as integrators and OTTs capture the lion’s share of the value.
And let’s be clear: telecom should stand alongside healthcare, global supply chains, and transportation—whether it’s aviation, railways, or the cars that move people every day. No one questions the need to pay for medical services, the logistics that keep economies running, or the infrastructure that enables global mobility. So why is it so hard to get users to recognize—and pay for—the foundation of the digital economy?
The solution isn’t to cut out integrators, but to bring them into a structured ecosystem—one where telcos dictate the terms, ensuring that APIs and access to network elements remain under their control. Otherwise, history will repeat itself, and telcos will once again become the invisible enablers of someone else’s profits.

API-fying Legacy Networks: A Strategic Imperative, Not an Afterthought

Legacy networks take far longer to shut down than any CTO would like—often years beyond the initial sunset plan. Yet, despite this reality, many telcos hesitate to include them in their API roadmap, seeing them as “soon-to-be-decommissioned” assets rather than sources of immediate value.
The truth is, if a legacy network has a real decommissioning date beyond 18 months, it should be API-fied. Not only because that deadline will almost certainly be pushed back, but because in the meantime, those APIs can generate real business value. Whether it’s monetizing connectivity, improving operational efficiency, or enabling smoother migrations, API-fying legacy infrastructure ensures that these networks remain strategic assets rather than cost burdens.
By treating API-fication as an all-encompassing strategy—rather than a luxury reserved for next-gen infrastructure—telcos can maximize value, extend monetization opportunities, and avoid getting locked into yet another costly, slow-moving transition.

The Chicken-and-Egg Problem: Build the Environment First, Then Innovation Will Follow

Many in the industry are waiting for high-impact ideas to emerge before justifying investment in Network APIs. But reality often works the other way around:
➡️ First, create the environment—then the results will follow.
Take CAMARA Project, for example. It could be a success if it manages to establish standardized APIs that facilitate innovation. But the real opportunities aren’t in generic, one-size-fits-all APIs—they’re in purpose-built, fully customized APIs for B2B customers, tailored to their specific operational and business needs.
And the best part? It’s entirely possible to offer this level of customization without compromising network stability or performance. With the right API management strategy, telcos can expose network capabilities in a controlled, governed, and scalable manner—allowing enterprises to consume network services dynamically, while ensuring security, QoS, and operational integrity.
The APIs that will truly drive impact are those that combine speed, precision, and flexibility—meeting each business’s unique requirements without forcing everything into a rigid standard. The real value lies in customization and adaptability, not in pre-defined templates that limit innovation. Telcos that embrace this mindset will lead the API economy, while those that resist will be left providing raw connectivity for someone else’s business model.

The Right Move: API-First as the Driver of a Business Ecosystem

For telcos to win this battle, they must act now and focus on four key priorities:
✅ Eliminate technical debt – There is no excuse for not having open APIs for network elements.
✅ Stop overanalyzing the business case – If an API creates value, it will be monetized in the market, not in an Excel spreadsheet.
✅ Build an ecosystem with integrators under control – Every dollar passing through an integrator is a dollar not reaching the telco unless the relationship is well managed.
✅ API-fy legacy networks that don’t have a real sunset date within the next 24 months – First, because those dates often get extended. Second, because they represent an immediate monetization opportunity.

Conclusion: Move Fast or Become Irrelevant

This is the final call. Telcos have the opportunity to capture the value of Network APIs, but if they keep waiting for the “perfect business case,” they will be reduced to mere transport channels for OTTs and integrators.
The choice is clear: either lead the Network API revolution or end up paying the price for those who did.

By Germán Pérez Trozzi, VP of Product & Marketing at Iquall Networks
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggpt/