Verizon and Vonage announce API pact

Onboarding Verizon’s application programming interfaces – or APIs – onto the Vonage platform ‘will enable enterprises to create deeper engagement with consumers across the customer journey to drive a better overall experience and brand loyalty’ so says the release. 

In other words, it seems to be about making Verizon’s existing set of APIs more accessible and usable for developers by making them available through the Vonage platform.

As well as this, the two firms have also pledged to collaborate on developing new network APIs for developers. 

“As we evolve our API journey, we welcome collaboration with companies like Vonage who share our passion to make network capabilities available to developers for the advancement of the connected world,” said Srini Kalapala, Senior Vice President of Technology and Product Development at Verizon. “Working with global partners to make network capabilities available on a wider scale will provide exceptional value for enterprises and consumers.”

Seckin Arikan, Head of Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) and Global Network Platform (GNP) Sales, Vonage, added: “Vonage’s collaboration with Verizon will represent another key milestone in the execution of Ericsson’s strategy to create a global network platform business by enabling the company to offer network APIs in the US market. With a mature platform in place, Vonage is uniquely positioned to aggregate Verizon APIs into an intuitive and consumable format that can be readily adopted by developers. Together with frontrunner operators such as Verizon, Vonage is excited to bring new, next generation network APIs to market.” 

Verizon boasts that its APIs will serve as’ the connecting tissue’ between developers, enterprises, applications and network services. More broadly, APIs have been touted industry wide as a potential means to make the most of 5G by allowing for developers to create network specific services that operators that may then be able to make more money from.

Vonage has an existing suite of communications APIs in the categories of voice, video, messaging, verification, and some ‘AI-capable’ low-code/no-code programmable components that are supposed to speed up the development of applications.

Ericsson snapped the firm up for the hefty sum of $6.2 billion in 2022, however last year that investment was given a $3 billion write-down, essentially meaning the value of the Vonage unit was halved.

Last month it was announced CEO Rory Reid would be leaving his position to be replaced by Head of Market Area North America Niklas Heuveldop, presumably signalling a desired change of direction by Ericsson for Vonage.

There was a lot of talk in general about the potential of APIs for telcos at last year’s MWC. A year on, it has to be said the promised potential hasn’t quite coalesced into an obvious vein of gold for cash strapped operators to tap into, but perhaps like so much in telecoms the answer is it will just take time.