LIVE FROM MWC LAS VEGAS 2024: Elena Fersman, VP and head of Global AI Accelerator at Ericsson (pictured), opened up on the vendor’s role in a consortium it launched last month in partnership with a group of leading operators, explaining there was a growing maturity within the industry to build digital platforms through open APIs.

The 5G API supergroup includes Ericsson, Google Cloud and leading operators Vodafone Group, AT&T, Verizon and Deutsche Telekom, among others. The group aims to coordinate their API efforts and broaden the field of app and service developer platforms they can access.

Fersman said “opening up things in general” is a great benefit for the whole of society, and the open API approach represents a shift in mentality within the industry, in comparison to how 5G was developed.

“Some years ago, when we were starting to research 5G and how the 5G network should look like, in the beginning we didn’t know what the driving use cases are. We’re always saying, let’s release this technology and let’s see what services will come on top of that.”

By offering this innovation platform to developers, Fersman believes there is an opportunity for all sorts of innovation, allowing them to design their services on top of the network capabilities that are being offered.

“In that sense, APIs are crucial to boost the usage of the network, to bring more services that telecoms vendors maybe have not thought about yet.”

During her keynote presentation, Fersman also discussed a recent hackathon hosted by the vendor, stating that around 35,000 people within Ericsson have now been trained with AI skills.