KDDI and Infobip join the Aduna API gangKDDI and Infobip join the Aduna API gang

KDDI has invested an undisclosed sum to join Aduna as a fully-fledged equity partner. As a member, it will contribute its expertise and resources – including technical skills and marketing – to advance the venture's aim to promote open, non-discriminatory access to advanced network capabilities.

"As a pioneer in telecommunications, KDDI is proud to take part in opening the network to exciting new possibilities. By joining Aduna, we're enabling broader access to advanced network capabilities through APIs, empowering developer platforms to drive innovation on a global scale," said KDDI CTO Kazuyuki Yoshimura. "Each new network integrated into this unified platform helps create an ecosystem where advanced applications can flourish, bringing seamless connectivity and enhanced services to more businesses and consumers than ever before."

In addition to KDDI, Aduna has also established a strategic partnership with cloud-based communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) provider Infobip.

Infobip provides developers with access to various APIs that enable them to add real-time comms features to their apps. This includes network APIs, such as Number Verify and SIM Swap. It is currently expanding its network API line-up to include Device Location and Quality-on-Demand.

"Infobip's solution-oriented go-to-market strategy leverages our own and partners' professional services, which allows us to bring CPaaS to customers for more developer focused initiatives," said Matija Ražem, Infobip's chief commercial telecom officer. "We continue to extend our partner and developer ecosystem, network APIs, self-serve capabilities and advanced security features. We are excited to partner with Aduna, this historic new venture in the telecom industry."

The addition of Infobip is particularly striking because it is also working with Nokia on the Finnish kit maker's effort to crack the network API nut, but Nokia is conspicuously absent from Aduna's membership roster.

And as rosters go, it is impressive. In addition to KDDI, the collaborative effort's telco members comprise América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone.

Kit maker Ericsson has also been involved from the beginning, which probably explains the lack of involvement from Nokia.

It's worth considering how Nokia's chances in the API market could be affected in light of the Infobip partnership and the general momentum behind Aduna.

Partnerships in this industry are a dime a dozen, and it would be all too easy to categorise this one – launched last September – as another well-intentioned but desultory attempt by the industry to capitalise on 'the next big thing'.

However, its credibility was boosted in January when it announced it would henceforth be known as Aduna, and installed a CEO in Anthony Bartolo, who previously served as chief operating officer of Ericsson-owned Vonage.

In one fell swoop, the ambitions of this motley crew of telcos (plus Ericsson) were galvanised by the unifying forces of branding and leadership.

Earlier this week, Aduna forged another potentially lucrative path to market. It agreed a strategic partnership with cloud comms provider Sinch, which like Infobip offers a portfolio of APIs to businesses that want to integrate voice, video, chat and so-on into their applications.

A sterner test of Aduna's mettle awaits, because it still has to get network APIs into the hands of enough developers willing to pay for them in order to prove its worth. The growing list of members and partners suggests it's doing a lot of things right, and that might just be a bad omen for Nokia's own API efforts.

To butcher a famous line from George Carlin: Aduna's a big club, and Nokia ain't in it.