The intense research work on 5G experimentation in Europe has reached the point where evolved 5G capabilities, such as the Service-Based Architecture (SBA), are to be exploited by third party innovators. Key enabler for this openness to third parties is the exploitation of standard APIs. An endeavor that is expected to shape a new and dynamic ecosystem in mobile networks from both the technology and marketing perspectives. Indeed, SBA allows the exposure of network services and capabilities through a set of northbound service APIs from the Network Exposure Function (NEF), a border function of the 5G network core. In addition, 3GPP has specified the procedures and the information flows for a common API framework (CAPIF) to address applicability, duplication, and inconsistency aspects when northbound service APIs are used. The requirements for the related API calls are listed in 3GPP TS 29.522 and TS 23.222. In this context, vertical industries will be able to develop Network Apps, i.e. to compose services by consuming 3GPP APIs, such as the northbound APIs of the network core, as well as other telco APIs, (e.g. service orchestration APIs exposed from the business support system – BSS).
EVOLVED-5G during the reporting period, but also across its lifetime, committed to embrace the potential of the emerging Network App ecosystem under the following objectives, which were fulfilled by its completion:
i) To design and develop an SDK and tools that will facilitate the development and verification of a Network App
ii) To build an open experimentation 5G facility for Network App creation, validation, and certification,
iii) To expose the 5G core network capabilities through standardized APIs (i.e. CAPIF)
iv) To provide an automated pipeline for the validation and certification of Network Apps.
v) To create a marketplace for the publication and the trading of the Network Apps
vi) To create an accelerator program for the 5G/Network App innovation across Europe
vii) To create a community around 5G programmability and Network App innovation
