HELSINKI, March 4, 2026, 14:33 EET
Nokia Oyj announced it’s bringing more major telecoms—Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and Orange—into its Network as Code ecosystem, while also adding Google Cloud’s “agentic AI” to the network APIs. “Giving developers greater choice, flexibility, and security to create innovative new applications,” is the goal, according to Shkumbin Hamiti, a vice president at Nokia. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Telecom operators keep searching for profitable 5G uses that go beyond just speedier mobile data. They’re also under the gun to automate their networks, as AI-powered apps drive up traffic and squeeze latency requirements.
Nokia is positioning its Network as Code service squarely between carriers and app developers. The move comes as the company pivots to software and cloud partnerships, with demand for network equipment cooling following several years of heavy 5G investment.
Network APIs—those application programming interfaces—give developers access to network features like number validation or quality enhancements, no need to dig into the network’s core. The Open Gateway initiative from the GSMA is pushing to make these APIs uniform across carriers, working in parallel with the Linux Foundation’s CAMARA project.
Google Cloud’s Sridhar Gollapudi and Nokia’s Mikko Jarva wrote in a blog post that AI agents might leverage Nokia’s platform together with Google’s Gemini models to translate plain-language instructions directly into network operations. “The network is no longer a bottleneck or a black box — it is a programmable, intelligent partner in our AI journey,” said Blocksport CEO Vladimir Liulka. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Google Cloud says its setup relies on standards like Model Context Protocol and agent-to-agent messaging, allowing software agents to communicate both with tools and among themselves. Deutsche Telekom’s Dr. Chathurangi Wickramasinghe put it this way: “Unlocking a seamless, intuitive developer experience is critical to the growth of monetizable services that leverage the full power of programmable networks and network APIs.” Google Cloud
Nokia has piled up operator agreements at the Barcelona event. This week, it announced plans to broaden its collaboration with TIM Brasil and Deutsche Telekom, focusing on AI-ready 5G infrastructure and AI-native radio tech. Nvidia’s AI-RAN platform figures prominently in Nokia’s proposal.
It’s not just telecom operators battling it out. Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson are pushing to boost software sales to carriers. Cloud companies, for their part, are also looking to carve out a larger presence within telecom networks.
But investors remain skeptical about the pace of returns. OP Corporate Bank cut Nokia to “reduce,” setting a 6.30 euro target price, MarketScreener reports. MarketScreener
There’s a major risk here: network APIs could remain a niche play. Operators drag their feet on privacy and security issues, while developers aren’t likely to invest if standards splinter or pricing lacks transparency.
Nokia’s annual general meeting is set for April 9, with first-quarter results expected out on April 23.
