Open Networking Foundation
The Open Networking Foundation was a non-profit consortium (2011–2023) that built and stewarded open source SDN, P4 dataplane programmability, 5G mobile core, Open RAN, and broadband access projects (Aether, SD-Core, SD-RAN, SEBA/VOLTHA, P4, ONOS) for tier-1 telecom operators and cloud providers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Open Networking Foundation does
Open Networking Foundation (ONF) was an operator-driven, non-profit consortium founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, that developed open source software-defined networking (SDN), network disaggregation and programmable dataplane technologies spanning broadband access, mobile/5G core, Open RAN, and edge cloud. Its core technology stack included the P4 dataplane programming language, the ONOS SDN controller, Stratum (P4-programmable switch OS), SEBA/VOLTHA (open broadband / virtualized PON), Aether (Kubernetes-based 5G edge cloud), SD-Core (cloud-native 5G mobile core), SD-RAN (O-RAN compliant near-RT RIC with xApps/rApps and the RANSIM simulator), and SMaRT-5G (ML-driven RAN energy optimization). Projects were Apache 2.0 licensed and achieved production deployments with tier-1 operators including Deutsche Telekom, Google, Comcast, SKT, Tencent, Türk Telekom, and Jio.
Open Networking Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Networking Foundation
- Legal name
- Open Networking Foundation
- Website
- https://opennetworking.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Open Networking Foundation was a non-profit consortium (2011–2023) that built and stewarded open source SDN, P4 dataplane programmability, 5G mobile core, Open RAN, and broadband access projects (Aether, SD-Core, SD-RAN, SEBA/VOLTHA, P4, ONOS) for tier-1 telecom operators and cloud providers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open Networking Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Source Networking Software (SDN/5G/Broadband)
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Cloud Networking & SDN/NFV Management (HDABABAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Telco Cloud & Edge NFV Platforms (HDAFANAI), Edge Networking & SD-WAN Integration (SASE/SD-WAN Edge On-ramps) (HDABAGAJ)
Keywords
Where Open Networking Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Open Networking Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: ONF operated as an operator-driven consortium funded by member companies. Following the merger with Linux Foundation in December 2023, ONF dissolved and contributed approximately $5M to seed three new directed funds (LF Broadband, Aether, P4) under LF governance.
- Government Research Grants: ONF received government funding including a $30M DARPA contract for Aether development (ended May 2023) and a $2M NTIA Wireless Innovation Fund grant for SMaRT-5G energy savings research.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Open Networking Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Networking Foundation developed and curated a portfolio of open source networking software platforms enabling software-defined networking, 5G mobile core, Open RAN, broadband access virtualization, and dataplane programmability. Its projects (Aether, SD-Core, SD-RAN, SMaRT-5G, SEBA/VOLTHA, P4, ONOS, Stratum) were released as open source under Apache 2.0 license and targeted telecom operators, broadband providers, cloud/hyperscale operators, and enterprises deploying private 5G and edge computing. Following the December 2023 merger into the Linux Foundation, ONF dissolved and these projects now operate as three independent community-led projects (LF Broadband, Aether, P4).
Product overview
Open Networking Foundation (ONF) was an operator-driven, non-profit consortium that developed open source networking solutions across access, edge, and cloud domains. Following the December 2023 merger into the Linux Foundation, ONF's portfolio was distributed into three independent projects: LF Broadband (supporting SEBA/VOLTHA for broadband/PON), Aether (supporting SD-Core, SD-RAN, and SMaRT-5G for mobile/5G), and P4 (supporting the P4 programming language and programmable dataplane). The product portfolio includes SDN controllers (ONOS), P4-based programmable switches (Stratum, SD-Fabric), edge computing platforms (OMEC, CORD), and network testing tools (gNBsim, RANSIM). The ONF has been dissolved with all operations transferred to the Linux Foundation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Aether Kubernetes-based edge cloud platform augmented with 5G connectivity service for private enterprise deployments requiring mission-critical edge applications with predictable/low-latency connectivity.
- SD-Core
Quantifiable outcome
- SEBA/VOLTHA deployments with Deutsche Telekom, Jio, Türk Telekom worldwide
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Networking Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Open Networking Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
Open Networking Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Linux FoundationcoreONF merged its entire portfolio of open source networking projects into Linux Foundation in December 2023. Three new directed funds (LF Broadband, Aether, P4) were created under LF governance. ONF dissolved as part of this merger, transferring all operations to LF.
- Cornell UniversitymajorCornell University plays a leadership role in P4 project through Professor Nate Foster (P4 co-founder, P4 Chief Architect, Cornell) who was elected to P4 Technical Steering Team and serves as co-chair of Language Design Working Group.
- Deutsche TelekommajorDeutsche Telekom has been a supporter of ONF since the beginning. Leading VOLTHA framework development used in DT's Access 4.0 network transformation. Playing leadership role in LF Broadband project under Linux Foundation governance.
- GooglemajorGoogle views P4 as transformative networking technology used in production networks. Playing leadership role in P4 project merger under LF umbrella. Dan Lenoski, VP Engineering Network Infrastructure, provided supporting quote for ONF/LF merger.
- IntelmajorIntel Labs is long-term ONF stakeholder and key contributor to mobile 5G projects. Playing leadership role in Aether project formation under Linux Foundation. Pranav Mehta, VP & Director, leads Intel's involvement. P4 contributions through Andy Fingerhut (TST Chair) and Nate Foster.
- NetsiamajorNetsia has been at forefront of SEBA and VOLTHA technologies. Collaboration with Türk Telekom brought Netsia BB Suite into mass production as world's first SEBA-based disaggregated open multi-vendor virtual broadband solution.
- RadisysmajorEarly supporter and contributor to ONF. Broadband products based on SEBA architecture leveraging VOLTHA open source platform, in production networks worldwide. Helping lead LF Broadband project.
- Türk TelekommajorFirst operator to use SEBA platform commercially in highly scalable structure. Leading SEBA community through role in LF Broadband Governing Board. Collaborated with Netsia on world-first SEBA-based disaggregated broadband solution.
- MicrosoftcoreONF Board member alongside AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Google, Intel, and Türk Telekom, driving the operator-driven consortium agenda.
- AT&TcoreONF Board member driving operator-driven consortium agenda for open networking innovation.
- TietoevryminorProvided system integration support for SMaRT-5G demonstration including O-RAN architecture interface implementation and x/rApp adaptations, enabling cohesive demonstration.
- Aira TechnologiesminorInitial collaborator in SMaRT-5G project focused on developing advanced intelligent energy savings solutions for mobile networks.
- AirHop CommunicationsminorInitial collaborator in SMaRT-5G project for mobile network energy optimization.
- Telecom Infra Project (TIP)minorCollaborating with SMaRT-5G community on intelligent energy savings for mobile networks.
- Rutgers WINLABminorCollaborating on RRAIL interoperability testbeds as part of Aether showcase deployments for Open RAN evaluation.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Open Networking Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Linux Foundation: Host foundation that absorbed ONF's entire project portfolio in December 2023 (LF Broadband, Aether, P4). Directly comparable as the umbrella open-source consortium for telecom and networking projects, now providing governance and funding infrastructure for ONF's former projects.
- Open Compute Project (OCP): Community driving open hardware specifications including white-box networking and compute platforms that Stratum and SD-Fabric target. Directly enables the hardware disaggregation story central to ONF's SDN/NFV thesis.
- CableLabs: Industry consortium driving broadband and cable network innovation, including DOCSIS and PON roadmaps. Comparable as a research/standards consortium collaborating with operators on next-generation broadband access where VOLTHA/SEBA are deployed.
- OpenStack Foundation (now OpenInfra): Open-source cloud infrastructure platform (OpenStack/Kubernetes) underpinning many telco NFV and cloud-native deployments, including ONF's edge stack. Comparable as foundational open-source infrastructure ecosystem for NFV and edge workloads.
Direct peers
- Telecom Infra Project (TIP): Operator-led consortium also pursuing open and disaggregated telecom infrastructure across access, transport, and core. Collaborates with ONF on SMaRT-5G yet competes for the same tier-1 operator sponsorship and open RAN mindshare.
- O-RAN Software Community (OSC): Open-source community implementing O-RAN Alliance specifications, including the Non-RealTime RIC that ONF's SD-RAN and SMaRT-5G integrate with. Competes head-to-head for O-RAN compliant RAN software developers and operator contributors.
- ONAP (Open Network Automation Platform): Linux Foundation project for telecom orchestration and automation; ONF's Aether SMO builds directly on ONAP. Highly comparable as adjacent open-source orchestration platform for carrier-grade networks and 5G.
- FD.io Project: Linux Foundation project providing high-performance data plane and protocol processing (VPP/DPDK). Targets the same programmable networking/software data plane space as Stratum and ONOS, serving overlapping telecom and cloud use cases.
Emerging players
- Akraino Edge Stack: Linux Foundation project delivering edge computing blueprints for telecom and enterprise edge. Comparable open-source edge platform intersecting with Aether's Kubernetes-based edge cloud with 5G connectivity.
- Mavenir: Commercial vendor building cloud-native Open RAN and 5G core solutions using open-source building blocks (including from ONF projects). Comparable as a software-based alternative to traditional RAN/mobile core vendors commercializing ONF ecosystem technologies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Open Networking Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Networking Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Networking Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Open Networking Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Open Networking Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Open Networking Foundation
What does Open Networking Foundation do?
Open Networking Foundation developed and curated a portfolio of open source networking software platforms enabling software-defined networking, 5G mobile core, Open RAN, broadband access virtualization, and dataplane programmability. Its projects (Aether, SD-Core, SD-RAN, SMaRT-5G, SEBA/VOLTHA, P4, ONOS, Stratum) were released as open source under Apache 2.0 license and targeted telecom operators, broadband providers, cloud/hyperscale operators, and enterprises deploying private 5G and edge computing. Following the December 2023 merger into the Linux Foundation, ONF dissolved and these projects now operate as three independent community-led projects (LF Broadband, Aether, P4).
Is Open Networking Foundation a public or private company?
Open Networking Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently acquired.
When was Open Networking Foundation founded?
Open Networking Foundation was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Open Networking Foundation based?
Open Networking Foundation is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does Open Networking Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are government Research Grants.
Who are Open Networking Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Linux Foundation, Open Compute Project (OCP), CableLabs and OpenStack Foundation (now OpenInfra). Direct peers are Telecom Infra Project (TIP), O-RAN Software Community (OSC), ONAP (Open Network Automation Platform) and FD.io Project. Emerging players are Akraino Edge Stack and Mavenir.
Does Open Networking Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open Networking Foundation.
What industry is Open Networking Foundation in?
Open Networking Foundation's product category is Open Source Networking Software (SDN/5G/Broadband). Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABABAK, Private Cloud Networking & SDN/NFV Management, with a secondary code of HDAFANAI, Telco Cloud & Edge NFV Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7372.