How Much Revenue Upside for Network APIs?

Many in the connectivity business have high hopes for network application program interface operations, which are intended to supply developers with a way to access and control the resources of a connectivity network, such as bandwidth, processing power and storage.

Forecast	Source	Date of Forecast
$20 billion by 2028	STL Partners	2023
$25 billion by 2028	Omdia	2022
$30 billion by 2028	ABI Research	2022
Over $100 billion by 2030	Nokia	2022
Multiple billions of dollars by 2030	Ericsson	2022
$5 billion by 2023	Informa Tech	2020
$10 billion by 2025	Juniper Research	2021

A network API could enable a developer to create a cloud-based application that stores and retrieves data from a database, for example. Likewise, an API could allow a developer to create a mobile application that allows users to check the status of their network connection or to manage their network settings.

Some believe APIS would allow developers to create IoT applications that enable users to control their smart home devices or to monitor the status of their industrial equipment.

Telcos hope APIs will allow them to charge developers for access to network resources, or allow them to create value-added services such as analytics tools, security features, and customer support.

Some believe telcos could use APIs, in partnership with cloud computing providers,  to offer developers a way to easily deploy and manage cloud-based applications.

The argument there seems to be that the APIs benefit developers by allowing them to avoid developing their own network infrastructure. Some might argue that most apps do not benefit so much from such integration. And most developers can find ways to work around needing such business relationships, and actually would prefer that option. 

That might be especially the case for apps that are expected to work globally, given the need for telcos to establish uniform APIs globally to reduce implementation hassles. 

The issue with such possible applications is that it is never so clear developers really need network APIs to do so. Industrial IoT sensors and apps arguably do not need network information to manage either smart home or industrial equipment. 

 In other cases, there is arguably value from having access to network information, but how much value is created? Will the additional value be viewed as worth payments by developers to telcos?