The company that once sold the most phones in India has partnered with Airtel; the two are planning this together.

Nokia, the Finnish company that once sold the most mobile phones in India, has made a significant comeback in the country with a major partnership. The company has joined hands with Bharti Airtel to make the telecom operator’s network capabilities available to developers and enterprises across India. Nokia stated that the collaboration aims to open Airtel’s pan-India network to third-party innovations through Nokia’s ‘Network as Code platform’ with a developer portal.

This partnership will provide developers and businesses with access to Airtel’s network through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on a subscription basis. This access will enable Airtel to create advanced digital solutions using technologies such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and edge computing. This move is expected to help developers create new products, while also helping Airtel find new revenue streams from its network infrastructure.

Following successful trials, the initiative will be rolled out to a broader developer base, including system integrators and enterprises. Through the Nokia platform, developers can easily perform network functions without needing to understand the complexities of telecommunications technology. This effort will bring about a significant transformation in the country’s telecom sector, making network APIs a key driver of innovation and monetization.

Sharat Sinha, CEO of Airtel Business, said, “At Airtel, we are working towards building an ecosystem for collaboration for future-ready innovations.  In line with this commitment, we are delighted to partner with Nokia today for Network APIs and enable the ecosystem to leverage our network capabilities to build automated, secure, and innovative digital services.” Arvind Khurana, Head of Cloud and Network Services at Nokia India, said, “Our partnership with Airtel is a significant step in expanding the ‘Network as a Code’ ecosystem. It demonstrates our commitment to helping telecom providers monetize their network investments and fostering innovation within the developer community.”