Dish’s 5G cloud-native network and the Nokia Network as Code platform will provide enterprises with access to the software development tools

Nokia today launched a Network as Code platform and developer portal, which the company said will help application developers and communication service providers (CSPs) monetize 5G and 4G network assets and accelerate the production of enterprise, industrial and consumers software applications. Because 5G-era networks are fundamentally software-based, they are programmable through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and other software development tools, which Nokia said provide access to deep functionality and data within networks.

In a press roundtable, Nokia’s Shkumbin Hamiti, General Manager of Network Monetization Platform, said that he is “very proud” of the new platform because he sees it as a “key milestone for Nokia’s strategic focus on driving new business models.” Specifically, the Network as Code platform is based on a revenue share model between developers, CSPs, and Nokia as the platform provider.

“But it also provides a platform that unlocks the network itself, which in itself packed a lot of innovation and capability,” he said. “It will fuel innovation in sustainability, collaboration [and] productivity. The platform itself provides a simplified access to complex network capabilities.”

In particular, the platform and developer portal provide application developers with new tools such as Software Development Kits (SDK); Network API documentation, a ‘sandbox’ to create software code for use case simulation and testing; and code ‘snippets’ that can be included in applications, as well as developer analytics to track usage. According to Hamiti, the APIs currently available on the platform includes quality of service on demand, slice management, slice selection, device location and device insights. By the end of October, Nokia plans to add others such as network insights and consent and IP management.

When asked about the timing of the launch, Hamiti explained that because CSPs have a great need to monetize their 5G assets, they are “very motivated to make the necessary changes to increase revenue.”

“Second, 5G networks are very rich in capabilities… yet they remain locked,” he continued. “There is a value there that is ready to be opened up to enterprises… and that was not possible with earlier networks. There are several reasons to be optimistic both about our platform and the other efforts that we see within the ecosystem.”

As part of the new platform announcement, Nokia also revealed that it has agreed to a memorandum of understanding with Dish Wireless to partner on an ecosystem project that enables enterprises to develop applications using advanced mobile and 5G network capabilities. The Dish 5G cloud-native network and the Code platform will be used to provide enterprises with access to the software development tools mentioned above.

“This partnership is putting the telco industry one step closer to realizing Industry 4.0. Developers and CSPs can leverage the combination of Nokia’s Network as a Code platform with the Dish 5G Open RAN cloud-based network to create and monetize solutions for new use cases across both consumer and enterprise markets, opening the door for further enterprise innovation,” commented Marc Rouanne, EVP, Global Partnerships, at Dish Wireless.

Beyond Dish, Hamiti shared that Nokia is in process of onboarding four additional CSPs “as we speak,” with the hope to increase that number “significantly” by the end of 2024.