Telecom API Market Size, Share, Opportunities, COVID-19 Impact, And Trends By Deployment (On-Premise, Cloud), By Type (SMS, MMS & RCS, WebRTC, Payment, ID/SSO & Subscriber, IVR/Voice Store & Voice Control, M2M & IoT, Content Delivery, Location, Others), By Type Of User (Internal Developer, Long Tail Developer, Partner Developer, Enterprise Developer), And By Geography - Forecast From 2022 To 2027

The global telecom API market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.79% during the forecast period to reach US$186.492 billion by 2027, from US$125.721 billion in 2020. An Application Programming Interface (API) is a software intermediary that enables communication among different computer programs or computer devices. The Telecom API allows carriers to pass valuable data sets to third parties and monetize them. Application programming interfaces have grown in popularity in the telecom business, as they have in other industries. Due to their improved capability and mobility, APIs have become the predominant mechanism for internal communication among operators and customers. The emergence of 5G technology is further expected to augment the market size in the forecasted period. 

The rapid technological advancements in cloud-based services and IoT are expected to augment the growth of the Telecom API market in the forecasted period. 

CPaaS (Communications-platforms-as-a-service) is a cloud-based system that uses APIs to integrate real-time audio, messaging, and video into existing business applications. With the growing demand for programmable networks in the organization, CPaaS solutions can assist by democratizing network access through API-based communications services. Ericsson, a Sweden-based multinational networking and telecommunications conglomerate, estimates that by 2025, the fast-growing CPaaS market is estimated to reach $22 billion, with annual growth of 30%. To realize its strategic plans, Ericsson has deployed the largest acquisition ever in its history since its inception. In November 2021, with its $6.2 billion acquisition of Vonage, Ericsson dived deep into the Communications Platform-as-a-Service industry with the aim of expanding its API and 5G abilities to a higher level. The firms hope to generate new chances to accelerate initiatives and innovation by combining Vonage's developer community and customer base with Ericsson's network knowledge, 26,000 R&D personnel, and worldwide reach. Accelerating enterprise digitization and designing enhanced APIs enabled by 5G is also part of the firms' goals. Strategic collaborations, innovations, and launches are expected to drive the market growth onward. For instance, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Salesforce, and China Telecom have all signed on to support the TM Forum's Open APIs. The four firms signed the TM Forum's Open API Manifesto to show their support for the latter. This deal commits them to utilize the TM Forum's APIs in their products and services and their RFP (Request for Proposal) processes. Another example of this is Prometeo's launch of its Payment API. In June 2021, Promereo announced the launch of a new payment API for the LATAM market, which addresses the region's lack of standardized and automated infrastructure for payments and money management. Prometeo strives to make LATAM's financial sector more open and connected. With the debut of its Payment API, it is now possible to conduct transparent and efficient transactions using financial infrastructure and API connectivity. The service is a "pay-per-bank" facilitator that enables digital money transfers and automatic payments across LATAM financial institutions without the use of credit cards, delays, or time-consuming manual interaction. Prometeo's new payment API is linked with banks representing 80% of the market share in Eucdar, Peru, and Colombia.

Furthermore, several API-providing firms have also been rapidly developing their solutions to enhance their brand presence. For instance, in October 2020, RingCentral upgraded its services by adding a high-volume SMS messaging feature to its telephony platform. This feature enables many industries, such as healthcare providers, to send appointment reminders to their patients in mass numbers. This new feature lets users send up to 50 MB of data and about 10,000 messages at once. Another example of this is the renewed partnerships between  Twilio and WhatsApp to optimize the developer experience. This partnership enables the Programmable Messaging API, allowing developers to send request notifications using WhatsApp, and launch an app within minutes via Twilio CLI. According to the partners, Twilio will use WhatsApp's internal team of professionals to enable conversational messaging services globally, including Mexican, Brazilian, Indonesian, and South American markets. Similar developments across the globe are bound to propel the market size.. Additionally,  because of the scalability that telecom APIs provide, the popularity of mobile-based technologies has increased significantly in recent years as the number of mobile service subscribers has increased.

The emergence of 5G and its rapid penetration into the industry is further expected to boost the market in the forecasted period. 

5G is more than just a new technology generation; it heralds a new age in which connectivity will become more fluid and agile. 5G networks possess the ability to adapt to applications with performance that could be customized to the user's specific requirements. According to the Global System for Mobile Communications' estimates, 5G connectivity is likely to surpass one billion in 2022 and two billion by 2025 globally. According to the statistics presented by GSMA at MWC 2022, regions like North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific will be investing the most and other networks, with each investing about 98%, 91%, and 84% in 5G of the total. In comparison, Latin America will be allocating 75% of its mobile investments to 5G and will reach US$ 73 billion by 2025. The rapid launch of 5G networks is estimated to lead to the mass production of 5G devices, thereby increasing the market size. 

COVID-19 Insights

Despite the pandemonium caused by the pandemic across the globe, several new developments were seen among the key players in 2020 with positive growth. RingCentral and WhatsApp updated agreement cited above is best an example of this. Also, in September 2020, Infobip's partnership with Span, an IT giant offering professional services and solutions to business users, is yet another example of this. This partnership between the two enabled the latter to design connected consumer experiences in all stages of the consumer's journey via Infobips's complete consumer experience and engagement portfolio. With this, now brands can effectively connect all the consumer data on a single platform and efficiently interact with their customers across multiple mediums like SMS and emails.

Telecom API Market Scope:

Market Segments

• By Deployment
  • On-Premise
  • Cloud
• By Type
  • SMS, MMS & RCS API
  • WebRTC API
  • Payment API
  • ID/SSO & Subscriber API
  • IVR/voice Store & Voice Control API
  • M2M & IoT API
  • Content Delivery API
  • Location API
  • Others
• By Type of User
  • Internal Developer
  • Long Tail Developer
  • Partner Developer
  • Enterprise Developer
• By Geography
  • North America
    • USA
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Others
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • France
    • UK
    • Spain
    • Others
  • Middle East & Africa
    • Israel
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Others
  • Asia-Pacific
    • China
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • India
    • Others