Today, Vonage and Deutsche Telekom, the largest public carrier in Europe and a globally integrated communications service provider (CSP), announced a partnership that makes Vonage’s library of microservices and APIs core to a new product offering. The MagentaBusiness API platform (powered by Vonage) provides access to both communications APIs and network APIs. The former simplify and accelerate efforts to embed email, messaging, calendaring, video and other communications tools into business applications. The latter iron out kinks and speed bumps that happen when applications need to communicate with resources across communications networks. Together they can enhance customer experience, and enable businesses to engage end-customers and employees over connections that are faster, more direct, and personal. 

MagentaBusiness API users will start with access to the same Vonage CPaaS capabilities that developers and enterprises have used to build their communications engagement solutions – including Voice, Messaging, Meetings and two-factor authentication. They will also have access to “select open network APIs” made possible through the pan-European CAMARA Project, (aka The Telco Global API Alliance) under the auspices of The Linux Foundation.

Examples include:

• Quality on Demand”(QoD) – which enables service developers to set the level of quality in a mobile connection that is required for a particular application. They can define the required latency, jitter and speed and be notified when a network cannot fulfill their requirements.
• Device Status Indicators – a feature that is growing in importance as geographically dispersed endpoint devices (cameras, sensors or automotive telemetry) support applications for fleet automation, video meetings or autonomous vehicle operations.
• Device Location – which is also key for navigation systems, troubleshooting and promoting reliability in a world driven by all the anticipated 5G connections.

More network APIs are being developed using 5G capabilities from Vonage’s parent company Ericsson. All will be added to the MagentaBusiness API portal.

A Milestone for Ericsson and Vonage and a Giant Step for Telekom

Ericcson acquired Vonage in July 2022 and set the stage for partnerships and product development to take advantage of unprecedented access to resources governing Quality of Service (QoS) across the public network. LLMs, Generative AI and other cloud-based resources have greatly diminished value if the communications links among disperse resources are unreliable, inadequate or slow. The graphics-laden low-code/no-code development tools often take low-latency network connections for granted. MagentaBusiness APIs give developers explicit control network capabilities that will be required to deliver a pleasing end-user experience consistently.

The partnership represents a giant step away from “Big Dumb Pipe” status for “the phone company” and makes Telekom (in partnership with Vonage) look like a force in the Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) with deep and intimate expertise into the inner workings of both wireless and wireline phone systems. Bring on 5G, for real!

Categories: Intelligent Assistants