At CASA25’s Showcase Challenge, not every demo was about AI agents or voice bots. XConnect’s Mark Harvey took a different route — literally.

Instead of asking what can AI do with networks?, Mark asked a simpler, and arguably harder, question:

What happens when network APIs actually work together — across borders, at scale, in the real world?

The answer came in the form of something unexpected: the world’s first truly global marathon.

It sounds like a gimmick. Until you realise what’s really being demonstrated.

The Problem with Most “Network API” Use Cases

Mark kicked off with a blunt observation. Most network API discussions today are local.

Single country. Single operator. Single use case.

Yet the real promise of telecom networks has always been global. Connectivity without borders. Services that work wherever people are — not just where an operator happens to operate.

So the XConnect team flipped the model.

What if you designed a use case that had to work across countries, networks, and operators from day one?

A Global Marathon, Powered by Telco APIs

The concept was deceptively simple.

Participants around the world run a marathon together — not in the same city, not even the same country, but connected digitally through a shared experience. Your marathon buddy might be in London while you’re running in Amsterdam. Different routes, same distance. Different conditions, shared challenge.

This wasn’t a mock-up. The app exists. It works. And under the hood, it’s powered entirely by telco APIs.

Not one or two — twelve GSMA Open Gateway APIs, layered together.

Why One API Is Never Enough

This was the real lesson of the demo.

• Number Verification enabled seamless login without passwords or OTP friction.
• Device Location ensured runners were where they said they were — no spoofing, no cheating.
• Geofencing dynamically adjusted routes in real time when runners hit roadblocks or restricted areas.
• Quality on Demand ensured the app kept working during high-density events with thousands of runners.
• KYC verified that users were who they claimed to be — using operator-grade data, not third-party guesswork.
• Roaming APIs confirmed cross-border authenticity without VPN tricks.
• OTP existed as a fallback, because resilience matters.
• Traffic Influence helped organisers manage crowds and alert authorities when needed.
• Carrier Billing opened the door to commerce, subscriptions, and operator revenue.
• SIM Swap and fraud-related APIs added another layer of trust and security.

Individually, these APIs are interesting.

Together, they create something meaningful.

That was the mic-drop moment.

From “Just a Demo” to a Commercial Question

Mark was refreshingly honest. This wasn’t built as a product. It started as “a bit of fun.”

But then something interesting happened.

A major sports brand asked a very real question: “Is this commercial?”

Suddenly, the conversation shifted.

If Strava can reach 150 million users and generate hundreds of millions in revenue, why couldn’t a telco-enabled platform — with built-in trust, identity, billing, and global reach — unlock similar value?

Subscription models. White-labelled platforms. Operator-led services. Brand partnerships. Commerce.

The business models are obvious once the capability exists.

Who Actually Wins?

That question came fast from the judges.

Mark’s answer was clear: operators should be the ultimate winners.

Not by selling one API at a time, but by enabling platforms that others want to build on. By making networks programmable in ways that developers, brands, and global communities can actually use.

The global marathon wasn’t about sport.

It was about showing that real value emerges when APIs are layered, orchestrated, and exposed as part of an ecosystem — not sold as isolated technical features.

Not a Sprint, a Marathon

There was a fitting metaphor in Mark’s closing exchange.

A global marathon isn’t about racing the same hill, the same street, or the same temperature. It’s about running the same distance together.

Much like network APIs.

This isn’t a sprint for quick wins. It’s a long-term play that rewards collaboration, scale, and persistence.

Or as Mark put it:

“Let’s run the world together.”

At CASA25, XConnect showed that when telco APIs stop living in slide decks — and start powering shared experiences — the opportunity becomes very real, very fast.

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.

Where CPaaS Meets American Idol

The grand finale of CASA25 wasn’t just another panel or pitch. It was a showdown. A live challenge. A little bit of circus, a whole lot of talent—and just a dash of demo chaos (because what would a live tech demo be without that?).

Welcome to the CPaaS Showcase Challenge: where four ambitious players took the stage not just to talk, but to show what CPaaS can do. Think “American Idol” for programmable communications—complete with judges, a live audience vote, and an evening reveal of the winner over well-earned beers.

And after the smoke cleared, Creo Solutions walked away with the top honors. But each contestant brought something unique to the stage—turning this into one of the most exciting sessions of the entire event.

💡 The Format: Live Demos, Real Judges, Big Stakes

Each contestant had 10 minutes to demo a live product or prototype. A panel of judges—Amy Cameron (STL Partners), Andrew Collinson (CPaaSAA), and Mike Mills (Gamma)—asked the hard questions. The audience joined as the 4th judge, voting in real-time across five criteria:

Innovation Ease of Deployment API/AI Integration Commercial Relevance Presentation Style

Let’s meet the four contenders and their demos:

🚀 Telnyx – “Ask Your Assistant, Not Your Developer”

Presenter: Pete Christianson

Telnyx opened strong with a vision for voice-first AI assistants that anyone—not just developers—can spin up. Pete demonstrated a scheduling bot built entirely by a non-technical product marketer. The voice AI handled calls, recognized users, and even interacted using natural language prompts.

Despite a hiccup during the live demo (we’ve all been there), the message was clear: self-serve CPaaS is moving from low-code to no-code to language-native.

🧠 Standout Insight:

“The future of CPaaS isn’t about asking your developer—it’s about asking your assistant.”

💬 Judge Reactions:

• Loved the infrastructure and vision.
• Strong voice-AI play, especially for SMBs.
• Questions about GTM, channel strategy, and fraud controls.

🧠 Radisys – Agentic AI, Natively in the Network

Presenter: Adnan Saleem

If Telnyx imagined a no-code CPaaS future, Radisys delivered the network-native AI reality. Adnan dialed a phone number—no apps, no installs—and activated a personal voice assistant that joined a 3-way call, understood context, answered questions, and sent a post-call summary via SMS.

Agentic AI, integrated directly into the IMS core, running on telco infrastructure. A jaw-dropper.

📲 Why It Mattered:

Fully app-free experience Personal and contextual assistant Works on any device, not just smartphones

💬 Judge Reactions:

• Monetization path for telcos is clear
• Real concerns around privacy, hallucination, and AI trust
• Strong vision with real-world use cases

🏃‍♂️ XConnect – The Global API-Driven Marathon

Presenter: Mark Harvey (Sekura.id, now part of XConnect)

XConnect brought the most creative use case of the day: a global marathon app powered by 12 GSMA Open Gateway APIs. From seamless login and geolocation to crowd control, KYC, and roaming detection—this app wasn’t just about running. It was about showcasing the power of layered APIs in a real-world scenario.

The app even triggered interest from a major sports brand. Not bad for a prototype built “just for fun.”

🎯 Big Idea:

APIs are like LEGO blocks—alone they’re fine, but together they build real value.

💬 Judge Reactions:

• Loved the story and ambition
• Pressed on go-to-market and monetization
• Disappointed they couldn’t see the live app in action

🧠 Creo Solutions – The Conversation Intelligence Cloud

Presenter: Robert Galop

Last up—and eventually the winner—was Creo with a vision for Conversation Intelligence at Scale. By ingesting VCons (voice conversations as structured data) across telco networks and apps, Creo provides call summaries, alerts, insights, and co-pilots for every type of customer—especially SMBs.

The demo? Seamless. Calls became structured records. Emotional alerts triggered owner follow-ups. Action items synced with apps. And everything was API-enabled for partners to plug into.

📈 Why They Won:

Business-ready product Clear revenue lift for telcos and UCaaS/CCaaS providers Strong vision, great execution, and killer pitch

💬 Judge Reactions:

“This doubles ARPU.” Concern over data overload addressed with usable dashboards Scalable, telco-friendly, and enterprise-relevant

🏆 And the Winner Is…

🥇 Creo Solutions

After the judges debated and audience scores were tallied, Creo was crowned the winner of the CASA25 CPaaS Showcase Challenge. Their conversation intelligence platform ticked every box: innovation, commercial relevance, scalability, and polish.

🎤 Closing Time: From Demos to Drinks

With the Challenge concluded, Rob Kurver came on stage to thank everyone—especially Nicolai Schaettgen for his brilliant emceeing and Laila van Hooff, the behind-the-scenes mastermind who made CASA25 run so smoothly.

The audience gave them a big hand—and then did what every great tech event should end with: walked next door to the Beer Factory for some final rounds, deeper conversations, and warm goodbyes.

CASA25 was a wrap. But the impact—and momentum—will carry into CASA26 and beyond.

Want more from CASA25?

Explore all the blogs, sessions, and videos here – including thought leadership on Agentic AI, Network APIs, Intelligent Engagement, and the future of programmable communications.

See you next year. 🧠📲🍻