Alianza and Vonage complete the CASA26 sponsor lineup — and two of our partners spent last week proving what the week is about.

Three earnings beats in seventy-two hours, three completely different verdicts from the market. Seven weeks to CASA26 — and nobody’s bingo card survived the summer.

Third in a four-part series unpacking the pillars of CASA26.

In March, the GSMA Open Gateway initiative marked its third birthday at MWC Barcelona. The interesting thing wasn’t the milestone. It was the agenda. The headline sessions weren’t about new APIs or new standards — they were about monetisation, business outcomes, and what the programme itself now calls “the demand side.” Aduna’s CEO took the keynote on turning APIs into real-world impact. The closing panels were about which verticals will actually pay.

Read between the lines and the industry is quietly admitting something it spent three years avoiding: the APIs were never the hard part.

That is the real subject of CASA26’s third pillar — Network APIs and telecom transformation. And it’s the pillar where I’ll be most direct, because this is the conversation the industry most needs and most avoids.

The plumbing finally works

It’s worth being fair first. The technical progress is real. Open Gateway is into its third year. CAMARA has standardised a credible set of service APIs. GSMA and TM Forum have a joint conformance certification programme, so an API certified once is trusted across the ecosystem. Aduna — backed by Ericsson and a roster of major operators — has stood up a genuine aggregation layer so a developer doesn’t have to integrate operator by operator. The hyperscalers — AWS, Google Cloud, Azure — have put network APIs into their marketplaces. Vonage, now an Ericsson company, has gone further and built network APIs into the core of its platform rather than treating them as a side catalogue. XConnect has done the unglamorous work of making cross-operator reach actually function.

In other words, the excuse is gone. For years, “it’s still early, the standards aren’t ready” was a fair answer. It no longer is. The road has been built.

So here is the uncomfortable question, and it’s a commercial one, not a technical one: the network is now programmable — but is it profitable? Programmable is not the same as profitable. And the industry has been far better at the first than the second.

We counted the APIs. We forgot to ask what they’re worth.

The recurring failure of the Network API conversation is that it is conducted in the wrong units. We count APIs. We count operators onboarded. We count standards ratified and milestones hit. These are supply-side metrics, and the customer has never once asked how many APIs you have.

The questions that matter are the ones the industry is least comfortable with. What job does this get done, for whom? What does it replace, and is the replacement clearly better? What will someone actually pay, and on what commercial model — per call, per outcome, per seat, revenue share? Until those have answers, an API is a capability, not a business.

Some have already named the shift. Vonage’s Neelam Sandhu, newly into the CMO role, used her CASA25 keynote to reframe the company’s story from connectivity to outcomes — saying out loud the move this entire pillar is really about.

This isn’t pessimism. It’s the opposite. The good news is that the demand side is finally producing real answers — in one area especially.

Identity and fraud is the wedge

The clearest near-term business case for Network APIs is not a new experience. It’s the quiet replacement of a broken one. The one-time password sent by SMS is insecure, easily intercepted, and a genuinely poor experience — and it underpins authentication for half the digital economy. Network APIs like Silent Authentication, Number Verification and SIM Swap detection replace it with something the operator can verify at the network level, in milliseconds, without a code to type.

This is the killer app GSMA has been pointing at — the argument made memorably at CASA25 that digital identity, not connectivity, is the operator’s most valuable and most defensible asset. It now has a regulatory tailwind: age-verification laws tightening across the US, EU and Australia put operators in a position no pure software vendor can occupy, because the trust and the subscriber relationship already sit with them. Beyond identity, Quality-on-Demand — guaranteed network performance for drones, robotics, live broadcast and immersive applications — is the next vertical wave.

The opportunity isn’t only the operators’. It belongs equally to the players who turn raw network signals into something an enterprise can buy with confidence. Shush is a case in point — its Sherlock platform packages identity, trust and fraud capabilities into a product a security team can actually deploy, rather than a kit of APIs they’d have to assemble themselves. In partnership with Twilio, it has already put silent network authentication into production with carriers such as DITO — replacing the SMS one-time password with precisely the network-level verification described above. That packaging layer, where a network signal becomes a business outcome, is where a great deal of the value — and the margin — is going to settle.

Identity and fraud is where the abstract finally becomes commercial: a real pain, a clearly better fix, a buyer who is already regulated into needing it. That is what every other Network API use case has to learn from.

The disintermediation question nobody wants to ask

There is a strategic risk hiding inside all this progress. The aggregation layer that makes Network APIs usable — Aduna, the hyperscaler marketplaces, the channel partners — is also the layer that can stand between the operator and the customer. If operators become the wholesale supplier of capabilities that someone else packages, prices and owns the relationship for, they will have built the road and handed the tolls to someone else.

This is the real “telecom transformation” question, and it’s not technical. It’s about where in the value chain the operator chooses to compete. We heard the early version at CASA25, where the “telco of the future” panel — e&, BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telin — circled exactly this tension between scale, partnership and control. The operators leaning hardest into Network APIs as a commercial discipline rather than a standards exercise — Orange and Vodafone among them, anchoring the Aduna model; BT building programmability into Global Fabric; the Asian operators like Telin treating it as a regional growth play — are the ones taking the question seriously. Whether they can move at the speed the opportunity demands is, as ever with telcos, the open question.

What CASA26 will do with this pillar

The Network API track at CASA26 is built to skip the milestone update and go straight to the commercial core:

• Which use cases actually have a buyer and a price — and which are still capabilities in search of a business?
• What pricing and commercial models survive contact with a real enterprise: per-call, per-outcome, revenue share?
• How do operators avoid being disintermediated by the very aggregators and hyperscalers that make the APIs usable?
• Is identity the wedge that finally makes the rest of the catalogue sellable?

These are analyst-led sessions with the operators, aggregators and platform players living the question — GSMA on the standards and identity story, the aggregation and channel players on distribution, and the operators on whether they can convert structural advantage into revenue before the window narrows.

This is also one of the CASA26 tracks open for a partner to help shape and lead. If your business depends on Network APIs becoming a market rather than a milestone, this is the room where that case gets argued honestly.

The network is finally programmable. Whether the industry programs it into a business — or watches someone else do it — is the only question that now matters.

Amsterdam. September 21–23. The next chapter starts now.

---

Next in the series: Innovation, Ecosystems & Real Outcomes — why the breakthroughs will come from ecosystems, not incumbents acting alone, and how CASA turns conversations into collaborations.

Moderated by Žiga Lešnik, Simon-Kucher, with Markus Kümmerle (Project CAMARA), Mark Harvey (XConnect), Álvaro Navarro (Vonage), and Andrés Burgoa (Aduna)

At CASA25, Žiga Lešnik of Simon-Kucher hosted one of the most dynamic and candid panels of the week — bringing together leaders from across the emerging network API value chain. What unfolded was a mix of celebration, hard truth, and cautious optimism about the road ahead for network APIs.

The New API Economy Takes Shape

The session opened with Markus Kümmerle of Deutsche Telekom — one of the original driving forces behind Project CAMARA — recounting how far the ecosystem has come.

Five years ago, he started Deutsche Telekom’s API program “as a one-man show,” building the GitHub, website, and onboarding the first 1,300 members himself. “We learned early that we only win together,” he said, describing how CAMARA’s success was born out of collaboration.

His point landed with the audience: telcos have tried to do APIs alone — and failed five times before. This time, as several panelists agreed, feels different.

Collaboration, Not Competition

Mark Harvey, Chief Identity Officer at XConnect (following Sekura.id’s acquisition), described the evolution from “API spaghetti” to the current wave of standardization.

“It’s very rare to see competitors like us sitting side by side,” he said. “We’ve finally realized that no one can crack this on their own.”

Both Álvaro Navarro from Vonage and Andrés Burgoa from Aduna echoed this sentiment. Vonage represents the CPaaS and developer experience side, Aduna the aggregator layer connecting multiple operators. “Our job,” said Burgoa, “is to make the life of these gentlemen easier — aggregating APIs globally so they can focus on developer relations and enterprise solutions.”

He summarized Aduna’s role neatly: “We’re the piece of the puzzle that nobody knew was missing.”

From Promise to Reality

A year ago, network APIs were still a promise. Now, they’re live.

For Vonage, that means focusing on developer experience and coverage — ensuring APIs work seamlessly in multiple countries and can be tested easily. “Even if it’s fake data, give developers a playground,” said Navarro. “That’s how adoption grows.”

Aduna, meanwhile, is solving the scalability challenge. Instead of every CPaaS negotiating with dozens of operators, Aduna handles the coverage and compliance complexity once. “We want Alvaro and his peers to focus on building solutions — not chasing legal contracts,” Burgoa explained.

Kümmerle confirmed that wholesale aggregation now represents 80% of Deutsche Telekom’s API business, with examples like RTL and Associated Press using live video APIs for major events. “It’s no longer theory — it’s production,” he said.

Focus: The Word of the Day

If there was one word that united the panel, it was focus.

“There are 181 CAMARA APIs,” warned Harvey. “We can’t focus on 181 things. Let’s stop adding new ones and start generating revenue.”

He argued for shifting attention away from “developers” and toward product owners inside enterprises: “They’re the ones with the problems — developers just implement. Let’s listen to the product teams, not just publish APIs and hope someone uses them.”

Kümmerle agreed: “We expose everything we have, but that’s wrong. The customer has one question: is it fraud — yes or no? That’s what we should build for.”

Three to Five Years Ahead

The panel looked forward to 2030 projections — figures as high as $300 billion in annual API revenues. While most saw this as achievable, the message was clear: it won’t happen by itself.

Burgoa highlighted regional momentum, noting that Aduna recently hosted its first summit at AT&T’s Dallas HQ with Verizon, T-Mobile, and international carriers. “If you had told me three years ago that all three U.S. operators would sit together to talk about network APIs, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.

But he was also realistic: “We’re spending more time in small rooms than on stages, negotiating commercial, legal, and operational alignment. It’s slow, but it’s real.”

Challenges Still Ahead

As Žiga pushed the panel to name what’s not working, the mood turned refreshingly honest.

Burgoa admitted the story still needs to “propagate” deeper inside operators. “It’s still a niche layer at the top. We need the operational people to start executing, not just hearing the story.”

Kümmerle pointed to over-regulation in Europe as a drag on innovation: “Privacy and sovereignty are essential, but the balance is off. We need to talk with regulators about how to enable innovation without compromising trust.”

Harvey reminded the audience that progress is often invisible: “Just because it’s not in the news doesn’t mean it’s not happening. TikTok and Google deals are massive milestones. We should celebrate small wins.”

Takeaways: Building the Road Ahead

Focus on fewer, higher-value APIs. Fraud, identity, and authentication are clear starting points. Talk to product owners, not just developers. Solve real enterprise pain points. Simplify language and onboarding. Developer experience is still a major adoption barrier. Collaborate, don’t compete. Aggregation, trust, and shared standards are key. Engage regulators early. Privacy and innovation must evolve together.

In the end, the tone was pragmatic but hopeful.

“We’ve fallen off the bike five times,” Harvey said, smiling. “But this time, we’re pedaling forward — together.”

Want to help shape the future of network APIs?

Join the CPaaS Acceleration Alliance and contribute to our ongoing work on The State of CPaaS 2026 and Network API Roadmap — where we turn conversations like this one into collaborative action.

At CASA25’s now-infamous Fight Club session, the rules were simple:

Don’t talk CPaaS. Talk customers. Talk outcomes. Talk impact.

And Vonage’s Marc Marchal de Corny did exactly that.

In a punchy, practical session, Marc showed what happens when we stop obsessing over technology—and start focusing on what users actually need. From fighting fraud to speeding up onboarding, the message was clear: real-world use cases, measured by real-world results, are what drive adoption. Everything else is noise.

From the First SMS to Today’s Identity Crisis

Marc started with a throwback: the first SMS in 1992. Since then, we’ve created amazing apps, connected billions of devices… yet we’re still authenticating users the same way—via SMS and one-time codes.

But the world has changed.

Fraud is now a $10 trillion industry.

Threats like synthetic identity fraud, social engineering, and OTP interception are everywhere. Yet many businesses still rely on the same outdated flows.

It’s time for something better.

Enter Network APIs: Invisible, Instant, Secure

Vonage’s answer? Network APIs, embedded within their Verify platform. These APIs work silently in the background—using mobile network data to authenticate users without them ever leaving the app, typing a code, or even noticing.

Two standout use cases showed the power of this approach.

Use Case 1: Sumeria (formerly Lydia) – Reducing Fraud, Not UX

Sumeria is France’s leading neobank. Like Revolut, they rely heavily on phone numbers as identity. But that made them vulnerable to account takeover attacks—and created friction in the onboarding process.

What they needed:

✅ Stronger security

✅ Seamless UX

✅ Lower drop-off rates

What Vonage delivered:

• 🔐 99% reduction in account takeover fraud
• 🚀 22% drop in sign-up abandonment
• ⚡ 3–5x faster user authentication
• 📱 6 million users verified via silent authentication

Crucially, this wasn’t just about swapping SMS for a new API. It was about rethinking the experience, eliminating interruptions, and restoring trust at scale.

Use Case 2: Cabify – Don’t Make Me Wait

For Cabify (the Uber of Latin America and Southern Europe), the challenge wasn’t fraud—it was speed. Travelers arriving at airports needed a ride now, and any delay in sign-up meant lost customers.

With Vonage’s network API-powered flow, Cabify:

• 🕐 Reduced onboarding time by 50%
• 🔐 Decreased OTP sharing and fake accounts
• 📈 Increased sign-up completions
• 🌍 Reached 50M+ users globally

Fast, secure, and invisible—the authentication just happened, in seconds.

Why Isn’t Everyone Doing This (Yet)?

An audience member nailed the big question:

If the benefits are this obvious, why aren’t all enterprises using this already?

Marc’s answer was honest:

“The use cases have always been there. What’s been missing is the operators’ ability—or willingness—to deliver at scale.”

But let’s be clear—this is not just a supply-side issue.

Even when the APIs are available, adoption takes time. Because switching is not just a technical decision—it’s a strategic transformation. It means:

• Updating customer journeys
• Rethinking identity models
• Aligning with compliance and legal
• Getting buy-in from risk, procurement, and CX teams
• Proving ROI to business stakeholders

And that means we, as an industry, have to do more than just ship APIs.

We need to:

• Talk benefits, not backend systems
• Explain outcomes, not architectures
• Guide customers through the entire change journey—not just integration

From CPaaS to Intelligent Engagement

What Marc gave us wasn’t a product pitch. It was a live case study in intelligent engagement.

It’s not about replacing SMS. It’s not about voice vs. data. It’s not even about CPaaS.

It’s about delivering value faster—for both the business and the end user.

Whether it’s signing up for a neobank, hailing a cab, or verifying identity across channels, the winning strategy is always the same:

• Invisible tech.
• Seamless UX.
• Measurable results.

That’s intelligent engagement in action.

And that’s what the future of this industry needs more of.

Final Word: It’s Time to Work Together

If we want network APIs—and intelligent engagement more broadly—to go mainstream, we need a new playbook.

It’s not enough to build great tools.

We need to embed them into outcomes.

To work across teams, not just tech stacks.

And to support customers every step of the way, from idea to implementation.

Because in the end, it’s not about what we can build.

It’s about what users actually need.

And that’s where the real fight is.

At CASA25, Vonage’s new CMO Neelam Sandhu took the stage to deliver the first industry keynote—and reframed the room’s expectations from the very start.

Yes, the talk touched on network APIs, CPaaS, and 5G. But more than that, it was a wake-up call: the telecom industry needs to stop selling features and start delivering outcomes. It needs to stop defining itself by what it connects—and start defining itself by what it enables.

This, Neelam explained, is where Intelligent Engagement begins: not as a tool or a trend, but as a way of thinking about how mobile networks can finally fulfill their potential in the digital economy. The same way cloud computing reshaped every industry over the past 20 years, mobile networks could reshape the next 20. If, that is, the industry can think—and act—like a platform.

1. What Cloud Did for Digital, Mobile Can Do Next

Neelam drew a powerful analogy between the rise of cloud and the untapped potential of mobile networks. Cloud computing didn’t succeed because it was technically clever. It succeeded because it unlocked new value—speed, flexibility, scale—for every business model it touched.

Today, mobile networks have that same potential. The building blocks are ready:

• 5G is now deployed in over 80% of high-income countries
• Programmable network APIs are being exposed
• Cloud and AI have matured enough to bring intelligence into the network layer

“The cloud unlocked AI. Now cloud and AI can unlock the network,” Neelam said.

It’s not a metaphor. It’s a market signal. The mobile network is ready to become the next digital platform. And just like cloud, that platform needs an abstraction layer—a way for developers, startups, and enterprises to build on top of it without needing to understand how it works under the hood.

That’s where Vonage, Ericsson, and Aduna come in.

2. Vonage’s New Role: The Abstraction Layer for the Network

Vonage, under Neelam’s leadership, is no longer positioning itself as just another CPaaS player. It’s now the interface—the business-facing layer—for a full-stack platform that spans from physical network to digital engagement.

Vonage’s tech stack includes:

• UCaaS: foundational communication channels
• CCaaS / vertical engagement platforms: tailored to industries like healthcare, retail, and finance
• CPaaS & APIs: the programmable glue
• Network APIs: the new addition—connecting directly into Ericsson-enabled mobile network functions

In short: Vonage is helping turn networks into platforms, just as AWS turned servers into services.

And the key to unlocking this platform value isn’t jargon—it’s storytelling, use cases, and real-world outcomes.

3. From CPaaS to Outcomes

Neelam was candid: “If I say CPaaS on stage, I should have to put a coin in a jar.”

That’s because the CPaaS label no longer captures what the industry needs. It’s not about enabling programmable messaging—it’s about designing communication journeys that adapt to context, intent, and industry needs.

Whether that’s a first responder securely transmitting diagnostics from an ambulance, or a bank proactively engaging a customer before fraud occurs, the focus is shifting:

🛑 From APIs

✅ To orchestration

🛑 From features

✅ To outcomes

This is where Intelligent Engagement becomes more than a marketing term—it becomes the north star.

4. Aduna and the Role of Aggregation

One of the most important enablers of this transformation is Aduna, the global telco joint venture built to standardize and simplify access to network APIs.

Aduna is already:

• Live in 17 countries
• Working with 37 telco partners
• Supporting 23+ APIs across network and comms layers

Much like cloud providers created standardized, scalable compute and storage APIs, Aduna is doing the same for telco capabilities like quality-on-demand, location, number verification, and more.

Neelam’s message was clear: fragmentation kills adoption. Aggregation creates markets.

And if we’re serious about making the network the next digital platform, developers need a trusted, unified interface to build on. That’s what Aduna delivers.

5. AI: Woven In, Not Bolted On

When asked about AI’s role in all this, Neelam made a key distinction:

“AI isn’t the headline. It’s a pillar.”

Rather than pushing AI as a buzzword, Vonage is embedding it across its stack:

• In smarter routing
• In real-time personalization
• In predictive engagement logic
• In tools that make human and machine agents work better together

Just like cloud became essential infrastructure, AI is becoming embedded intelligence. What matters now is how well it integrates into the communication fabric—and how much it improves the experience, not just the efficiency.

6. The Cultural Shift: From Telco to Tech

Beyond the technology, Neelam called for a mindset shift.

“We need to stop thinking like telcos. We need to start thinking like tech companies.”

This means:

• Partnering across traditional boundaries
• Moving faster
• Building ecosystems, not just selling capabilities
• Speaking in use cases, not layers
• Seeing communications as an enabler of digital transformation, not just another service line

It also means being bold—possibly acquiring AI startups, reshaping business models, or experimenting with monetization strategies that look more like cloud marketplaces than telecom pricing sheets.

Final Reflection:

Neelam’s keynote didn’t just explain where Vonage is heading—it outlined the path for the entire industry.

The next era of growth won’t be led by those with the most APIs, or the most telco partners. It will be led by those who understand what all this technology is actually for—creating meaningful, trusted, real-time engagement between people and brands, machines and moments.

That’s the real transformation. That’s the new standard.

The energy around CASA25 keeps building—and we’re excited to share that Vonage has just signed on as a sponsor! A true heavyweight in the communications space, Vonage brings the power of Ericsson and a sharp focus on Network APIs, AI, and enterprise enablement.

Their support signals something bigger: CASA25 is becoming the go-to gathering for those shaping the future of programmable communications.

And they’re in good company.

🌟 CASA25 Sponsors (to date)

• Vonage – One of the industry’s most recognized names, with deep expertise in CPaaS and network APIs.
• Gamma – A European leader in UCaaS and cloud communications, focused on next-gen collaboration.
• Crexendo – North American UCaaS/CCaaS innovator with enterprise-ready solutions.
• McKinsey & Company – Strategic powerhouse helping define the telecom and AI landscape.
• Infobip – Global platform helping enterprises and telcos drive customer engagement.
• Radisys – Pioneering open telecom solutions and programmable infrastructure.
• GSMA – Industry-wide champion of Open Gateway and network API adoption.
• Sinch – Cloud communications leader enabling personalized customer experiences.
• 2600Hz (an Ooma company) – Empowering service providers with open, modular voice platforms.
• KPN – Dutch telco leaning into network innovation and open collaboration.
• CM.com – Messaging and payments platform bridging customer experience and communication.

🔥 Why It Matters

These sponsors represent the full ecosystem—from infrastructure and platforms to consulting and customer experience. Together, they’re not just supporting an event—they’re committing to a new phase of collaboration, innovation, and real-world execution in CPaaS, AI, and telecom.

🧭 What to Expect at CASA25

Visionary Keynotes – Hear from the leaders defining what’s next in communications, APIs, and AI. Workshops That Build – Leave the slide decks behind—these are hands-on sessions for co-creation and strategy. Real Conversations – No sales fluff, just direct, practical dialogue between insiders.

CASA25 is where the future of communications takes shape—and with partners like Vonage joining, the momentum is undeniable.

Let’s build what’s next. Together.