APIs have transformed the infrastructure for various tech solutions, including payments, maps, and messaging. However, telecom appears to be late to the party. Traditional telecom API infrastructures are often closed, clunky, and require high upfront costs, which are unfavorable to small enterprises.
Over the past few years, eSIM APIs have made a significant difference. eSIM APIs offer the agile alternative for developers to add plug-and-play connectivity to their products. This means that developers can build apps ranging from fintech to travel solutions that can deliver connectivity to users without having to build a telecom infrastructure.
Read on as we explore how API-first telecom is revolutionizing the industry, empowering developers to create innovative new solutions with seamless connectivity.
Why Telecom APIs Have Been a Developer Pain Point
For years, building products around SIMs and connectivity was not as seamless as it is in some other sectors. Platforms like Stripe and Google Maps offer straightforward APIs that facilitate seamless payment and navigation integration. Telecom APIs are only just growing to that point, and here are some reasons why it has not always been easy:
Legacy Infrastructure: Most of the tech infrastructure in telecoms consists of decades-old systems that were never designed to be developer-friendly. In adapting to recent modern integrations, telecom APIs are built on top of legacy stacks, where a call must pass through translation layers to connect to the old system.
Closed Ecosystem: Telecom traditionally gatekeeps its networks. Therefore, typical access to their APIs will require long-term contracts, carrier relationships, or reselling agreements. Compared to modern API solutions, where you can just sign up and start building.
Complexity & Fragmentation: Unlike you’ll see in areas like payments or messaging, where APIs have flourished, telecom does not have a single industry-wide standard for APIs. This free-flow system permits telecom firms to build their systems however they wish, leading to varying industry patterns. While one carrier might require four steps for eSIM provisioning, another might require six for the same task.
Cost: Startups and independent developers who just want to prototype often struggle to afford the high minimum commitment or recurring fees that many telecom APIs require.
What the Modern eSIM API Is
New eSIM infrastructure companies are offering API-first gateways to global data connectivity. Instead of entering contracts and partnering directly with telecoms or handling physical SIM distribution, developers can get programmatic access to everything they need to embed connectivity into their platforms and apps.
Unlike physical SIM cards, eSIMs are a software-first technology that does not require factories, distribution, or retail networks. This significantly helps cut costs for providers and consequently opens up the industry to new players. Many eSIM infrastructure companies can simply lease digital capacity from larger players and expose it via API.
With the new API-first approach, developers can easily access endpoints for:
- Generating eSIM profiles
- Managing activations
- Tracking usage and billing.
Why Developers Should Care
The telecom industry was a closed ecosystem for several years. New API first technologies have changed this model and simplified developer eSIM integration. Developers can now add connectivity to their products and enjoy effortless integration as found in systems for payments, messaging, or navigation. What’s the reason this shift is important for developers?
Low-friction API Integration: The newly designed eSIM systems have APIs designed specifically for integrating eSIMs, having APIs designed from the ground up for the purpose of serving developers. These API systems are well-structured, cloud-based, and RESTful, allowing developers to access and adapt them to their use.
New product layer: With emerging API-first telecom systems, developers can easily embed connectivity into existing workflows. This easy developer eSIM integration allows fintech apps, travel booking apps, or remote work SaaS solutions to add ready-to-use eSIM services.
Higher revenue potential: Developer eSIM integration allows platforms to add connectivity as a means to boost revenue. Moreover, eSIMs offer the potential for recurring revenue streams as customers continue to renew and top up their plans.
Expected Growth Trend For Telecom
About a decade ago, platforms like Stripe and Plaid completely changed the developer ecosystem with APIs that opened a previously gated industry to anyone with a good idea and a bit of code. eSIM APIs appear to be at that stage, and the next couple of years are promising for developers looking to leverage the APIs for seamless connectivity.
Moreover, the eSIM revolution is more than just selling data plans to mobile devices. In the past few years, we’ve seen a massive leap in connectivity for IoT devices and smart city sensors, allowing them to go online in an instant. Therefore, developers building systems and embedding telecom APIs today will have a strong impact on tomorrow’s connected services.
Final Thoughts: Major Shift In Telecom
eSIMs are facilitating a fundamental shift from closed, controlled systems into open APIs that developers can build on. Connectivity is becoming a major feature embedded in modern products, platforms, and apps. Over the next few years, it is expected that developers will take advantage of modern, developer-friendly APIs to unlock new ways to serve users in industries such as travel, fintech, IoT, and beyond.
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