Nokia and Telstra have marked the successful completion of their Connected Future Hackathon 2025, a joint initiative delivered through Telstra’s muru-D innovation hub. The event brought together developers from across Australia and India to explore new ways of leveraging the expanding field of network programmability to benefit society.
Using Nokia’s Network as Code platform and Telstra’s network APIs (application programming interfaces) in a secure sandbox environment, 200-plus participants across 60 teams created over 30 prototypes, demonstrating the promise of advanced network insights to shape next-generation applications for industries, enterprises and customers.
The hackathon showed how intuitive, purpose-built network APIs can unlock practical new solutions in areas spanning healthcare, banking, automotive, entertainment and other industries. Tapping into a curated set of developer-ready APIs, participants leveraged capabilities such as device connectivity, identity and number verification, and location proximity to build applications that responded intelligently to real-time network insights.
The winning team, Advanced Software Engineering COE, developed a solution to combat issues related to phone number recycling – the practice of reassigning a deactivated number to a new user. Their application uses network APIs to detect and manage number reassignment, helping prevent misrouted messages, security risks and customer frustration. The three-person team described their work as “a smarter way for businesses to verify SIM ownership before sending SMS codes.”
“This hackathon showed the remarkable creativity that emerges when developers gain simple, secure access to advanced network capabilities through Nokia’s Network as Code platform. The results highlight how programmable connectivity stimulates meaningful innovation, as developer ecosystems use network intelligence to solve real-world challenges,” said Shkumbin Hamiti, Head of Network Monetization Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia.
“It’s fantastic to work with the developer community and give them the tools to build and innovate on our network. This hackathon was a powerful demonstration of our Network as a Product vision – shifting from traditional to programmable networks and enabling developers to create real-world solutions which then drives more consumption of our network. With partners like Nokia, we want to build an ecosystem where innovation thrives, new business models emerge and our customers benefit from smarter, more secure digital experiences,” said Simon Osmond, Group Owner Product & Technology at Telstra.
The global ecosystem of Nokia’s Network as Code platform has grown to over 65 partners, including telecommunication providers, AI and cloud providers, Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) platform providers, systems integrators and vertical independent software vendors.
Multimedia, technical information and related news. Webpage: Connected Future Hackathon 2025. Product page: Network as Code | Nokia. Webpage: Connected Future 30 | Telstra
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era. With expertise across fixed, mobile, and transport networks, powered by the innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we’re advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world.
About Telstra
Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications and technology company. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets in Australia, operating the largest mobile and wi-fi networks. Globally, we provide end-to-end solutions including managed network services, global connectivity, cloud, voice, colocation, conferencing and satellite solutions. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the United States and offer access to more than 2,000 points of presence across the globe. For more information visit www.telstra.com.
About Telstra muru-D
muru-D is Telstra’s hub for incubating ideas, products, and technologies, and plays a pivotal role in accelerating a portfolio of ~80 startup investments. The name muru-D has a meaningful origin rooted in the Sydney Aboriginal Eora language—muru means “path,” symbolising a journey or direction, while the D stands for “digital,” representing our focus on digital innovation. Together, muru-D signifies a pathway to digital innovation.
muru-D explores emerging technologies and rapidly prototype solutions, drawing on deep expertise in 5G, IoT, connectivity, edge computing, and applied AI. Through partnerships with industry, experts, and universities, we co-develop real-world solutions to real-world problems. Our process includes prototyping, proof-of-concepts, customer trials, hackathons and human-centred design workshops.
In addition to supporting Telstra’s innovation mission, muru-D backs founders driving social and technological impact across AI, VR, AR, drones, satellites, and robotics—amplifying innovation through our growing portfolio of startups. www.telstra.com.au/business-enterprise/muru-d
