Orange and Nokia have announced an expansion of their partnership aimed at advancing network programmability and monetisation utilising Nokia’s Network as Code platform.
Nokia’s platform, equipped with a developer portal, will allow developers to access Software Development Kits (SDKs), comprehensive Network API documentation, and a 'sandbox' environment for simulation and testing.
By integrating Nokia’s Network as Code platform with the Orange Developer Portal, developers will have enhanced access to Orange’s commercial production-grade network API capabilities.
The integration is intended to accelerate the development and deployment of new applications, further tapping into the global developer ecosystem.
Laurent Leboucher, Group CTO at Orange, emphasised the significance of this collaboration: "We are very pleased to open another area of collaboration with Nokia that enables compelling business use cases to consume our network assets in ways that were not really feasible years ago.
“Today, the level of collaboration among operators, system integrators, developers, and partners, is a step change and this is positioning us to better tap the cloud-native capabilities built into Orange’s 5G network."
Raghav Sahgal, president of Cloud and network services at Nokia, echoed this sentiment: "This is an important step in our relationship with Orange and further validation of the steps we are taking in the API journey to help customers achieve network programmability and monetisation.
“We look forward to our continued close cooperation with developers to create and drive new opportunities that support Orange in delivering even more value from its network assets."
The platform is built on technical standards produced through industry initiatives such as the GSMA Open Gateway initiative and the Linux Foundation CAMARA, to which both Nokia and Orange contribute.
With Orange already implementing these guidelines and making the first commercial-grade APIs available in France and Spain, the collaboration sets the stage for broader deployment and innovation across Europe.
Nokia’s Network as Code platform is part of a broader strategy to unify telco networks, systems integrators, and software developers globally, aiming to unlock the untapped potential of 5G and 4G networks. This initiative aligns with Nokia’s existing collaboration agreements with 12 network operators and ecosystem partners worldwide.
Through this strengthened partnership, Orange and Nokia are poised to accelerate the development of new 5G applications, driving forward the next wave of digital transformation in Europe.
It was announced earlier this week that Nokia had completed its acquisition of Fenix Group, a company which specialises in tactical communications and will allow Nokia to continue its expansion into the defense sector.
The closing of the acquisition, including the associated Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review and approval, marks a significant milestone in Nokia’s U.S. strategy.
Nokia and Fenix were jointly selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in October 2021. The mission was to provide ad hoc tactical private wireless communications bubbles.
The combination of Nokia and Fenix supports the objective of bringing dual-use technology capabilities to the warfighter.
Mike Loomis, president of Nokia federal solutions: “The closing of the Fenix Group acquisition marks a significant step forward in our strategy to grow our defense business, as well as our overall U.S. strategy. Fenix's expertise in broadband tactical communications perfectly complements our existing offerings, and together we will be even better positioned to deliver high-performance, secure, and reliable solutions to our defense customers, helping them achieve mission-critical objectives.”
