The Linux Foundation continued its push to infuse open source projects into the telecom space, launching the Kubernetes-based Nephio project with Google Cloud.

The Nephio project is designed to provide Kubernetes-based cloud-native intent automation and automation templates to make it easier for telecom operators to deploy and manage multi-vendor cloud infrastructure and network functions across large-scale edge deployments. It sits on top of a Kubernetes substrate either directly controlled from an operator or a hyperscaler-based platform like Google Config Connector, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Controllers for Kubernetes, and Azure Service Operator.

It basically takes Kubernetes’ cloud-native orchestration expertise to allow operators to roll out and manage new services in their 5G and edge deployments. This will allow for faster onboarding of network functions into a production environment that mimics the DevOps process used by hyperscalers.

"We believe that true cloud nativeness lies in the fact that Kubernetes can actually automate all the way down from describing a network function or a service to the infrastructure including all the underlying networking components," Gabriele Di Piazza, senior director of product management for telecom at Google Cloud, explained during a keynote address at today's Open Networking & Edge Executive Forum.

The project is also upfront in that does not provide not deliver end-to-end service orchestration, cloud infrastructure, or network functions.

The biggest bridge the project looks set to cross is in providing a “carrier-grade” option for telecom operators as they deploy their 5G networks. This has historically been a concern as telecom operators compete in a heavily regulated space that includes government and public safety requirements that often surpass those of traditional cloud-based operators.

The Nephio project launched with support from more than a dozen supporters, including operators like Airtel, Bell Canada, Orange, and Rakuten Mobile, and vendors like Arm, Casa Systems, Vapor IO, Ericsson, F5, Intel, VMware, Juniper, and Nokia.

The Linux Foundation has been targeting the operator and 5G space for years.

The LF Networking (LFN) group, for instance, conducted a live demo of a Kubernetes-powered end-to-end 5G cloud native network at the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America event in late 2019.

The open source group is also home to other 5G and telecom-focused projects like the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP), Magma Core Foundation, XGVela, LF Edge Akraino, and O-RAN Software Community. That last is a project the Linux Foundation and O-RAN Alliance initiated about three years ago to develop open source software for 5G radio access networks (RAN).