On October 1–2, 2025, the O-RAN ALLIANCE Open Source Focus Group (OSFG), in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Labs (UNH-IOL), hosted a hands-on workshop that brought together the global Open RAN community to share progress, ideas, and possibilities.
This two-day event brought together contributors from the O-RAN Software Community (SC), LF Networking (LFN) (including ONAP and Nephio projects), OpenAirInterface (OAI), and academic research partners, such as Rutgers WINLAB, to align open source innovation with testing, standards, and commercialization efforts.
Key Themes
1. End-to-End Open RAN Integration
Lincoln Lavoie and the UNH-IOL team showcased the Open Source O-RAN Reference Testbed, a reproducible, Ansible-driven CI/CD/CT environment that integrates components from OAI, Free5GC, OSC-RIC, and commercial platforms. The testbed supports DU/CU, SMO, RIC, and 5G core elements, providing a practical way to validate multi-vendor interoperability and continuous testing through community-led automation.
Takeaway: The community is moving from individual component testing toward a continuous, full-stack validation framework that connects academia, open source, and operators.
2. Modularization and Alignment Across Projects
Multiple Linux Foundation projects – including LFN projects ONAP, Nephio, and Aether, and Anuket presented updates on modular, cloud-native architectures supporting O-RAN’s evolution.
The O-RAN Software Community (O-RAN SC) also presented updates on its 15th release cycle, highlighting key focus areas such as RIC innovation, OAM integration, simulator advances, and AI/ML framework development. These efforts continue to strengthen collaboration between O-RAN SC, LF Networking, and academic partners, ensuring that open source RAN components work together seamlessly from research to deployment.
- ONAP has evolved into a modular collection of network automation functions deployable independently via GitOps and ArgoCD.
- Nephio’s most recent releases, R5/R6, expand O-RAN cluster creation and observability.
- Duranta, a candidate project under LF Networking that provides a research-grade open source CU/DU/UE stack seeded from OAI for integration and testing.
- Anuket, led by LF Networking, continues to define infrastructure blueprints and conformance standards for telecom workloads and now incorporates OpenSSF Scorecard checks to strengthen code security and trust across shared environments.
Takeaway: The workshop solidified a roadmap toward “pick-and-choose” modularity, enabling open source projects to integrate seamlessly into reference blueprints for secure real-world deployments.
3. Open Source as a Tool for Learning and Commercialization
Tracy van Brakle (Rutgers WINLAB) highlighted the educational and commercialization value of NextG open source stacks, including:
- Student-built SMO and rApp prototypes for network resilience and spectrum sensing.
- Research through the INDIGO and ACCoRD programs to accelerate disaster recovery, interoperability, and open RAN commercialization with NTIA support.
Takeaway: Open source is shaping not just technology innovation, but also the next generation of wireless engineers.
4. Strengthening Governance and Community Sustainability
Discussions led by the Linux Foundation and O-RAN ALLIANCE emphasized governance evolution:
- Enhancing project integration, documentation, and security management (including CVE processes).
- Elevating open source as an equal “pillar” alongside standards and testing within the O-RAN ALLIANCE.
Takeaway: Open source needs to be formally recognized as a core pillar of Open RAN’s global strategy.
Workshop Outcomes and Next Steps
Key recommendations and follow-up actions include:
| Area | Action | Owner(s) |
| Blueprint Streamlining | Continue refining the current “Super Blueprint” to make it more modular and easier to deploy. Recommendations for maintaining and rebranding to be reviewed at the upcoming face-to-face meeting. | LF Networking / OSFG |
| Integration Testing | Continue building CI/CD pipelines via UNH-IOL reference testbed; standardize playbooks and blueprints. | UNH-IOL / OSC / OAI / LF Networking |
| Marketing & Awareness | Launch blog and social campaign promoting blueprint collaboration and educational impact. | O-RAN SC Marketing |
| Security and CVE Management | Clarify software intent as research-grade; integrate CVE automation tooling via LF infrastructure. | OSC / LF Security |
| Community Development | Grow internship and mentorship programs through universities like Rutgers and UNH. | OSFG / O-RAN SC / LF Networking |
Looking Ahead
These conversations will continue at the upcoming O-RAN ALLIANCE Face-to-Face Meeting in Dallas, October 27–31, 2025. The meeting will bring together operators, vendors, researchers, and government representatives to advance O-RAN specifications, share progress on 6G preparation and nGRG research, and strengthen collaboration across the global open RAN ecosystem.
Call to Action
We invite developers, researchers, and operators to get involved:
- Join the O-RAN Software and LF Networking communities.
- Follow us on LinkedIn: O-RAN Software Community (SC) and LF Networking
- Explore the UNH-IOL Open Source Testbed: oss.iol.unh.edu/o-ran
Learn and contribute: From open source internships to blueprint deployments, the future of Open RAN is being built collaboratively – join us!