Pentagon and Linux Foundation Launch OCUDU, an Open-Source Software Stack Aimed at Becoming the Linux of 5G and 6G Networks
The Linux Foundation launches the OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation with 47 members including AMD, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Verizon to build an open-source radio access network stack for 5G and 6G, backed by the Pentagon's FutureG office.
The Linux Foundation announced the formation of the Open Centralized Unit Distributed Unit Ecosystem Foundation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 1, 2026, creating a new public-private initiative to develop a production-ready open-source software stack for the centralized and distributed unit layers of radio access networks. The project, which originated from funding by the Pentagon’s FutureG office and the National Spectrum Consortium, aims to do for wireless infrastructure what Linux did for the internet.
The foundation launches with nine premier members — AMD, AT&T, DeepSig, Ericsson, Nokia, NVIDIA, SoftBank Corp., Software Radio Systems, and Verizon — alongside 21 general members and 17 research institutions including Georgia Tech, Rice University, UC San Diego, and Idaho National Laboratory. General members span established telecom vendors such as Cisco, Red Hat, and T-Mobile alongside smaller firms like Cohere Technologies and Skylark Wireless.
From Defense Contract to Open-Source Platform
The OCUDU project traces its origins to a contract awarded in September 2025 by the National Spectrum Consortium to DeepSig and its partner Software Radio Systems. Over the subsequent six months, the two companies built a functioning, downloadable radio access network stack that the Pentagon plans to publish on GitHub in April 2026. The code will be released under a BSD 3-Clause license, with the Linux Foundation providing neutral governance.
“By aligning global efforts under the Linux Foundation, we’re building an open, trusted, and secure open source platform to power the next decade of wireless innovation,” said Arpit Joshipura of the Linux Foundation.
Dr. Tom Rondeau, principal director of the Pentagon’s FutureG office, described the effort as bringing “the best of the open source model to one of the most critical layers of future wireless.” SRS CEO Paul Sutton called OCUDU a step toward “a carrier-grade, open-source software platform” that could serve as the Linux of RAN.
Convergence With NVIDIA’s 6G Vision
The foundation’s launch coincided with a broader commitment by NVIDIA and global telecom leaders to build next-generation networks on AI-native, open, and secure platforms. That coalition, which includes BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Nokia, SK Telecom, SoftBank, and T-Mobile, envisions embedding artificial intelligence across the radio access network, edge, and core infrastructure to support 6G capabilities such as integrated sensing and communications.
“AI is redefining computing and driving the largest infrastructure buildout in human history — and telecommunications is next,” NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said in a company statement. NVIDIA has also developed what it calls a Nemotron-based Large Telco Model with open-source guidance for operators to build autonomous network agents.
The OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation is listed as a formal partner in the NVIDIA-led commitment, tying the Pentagon-funded open-source RAN effort directly into the broader industry push toward AI-native 6G architecture.
What It Means for Open RAN
Open RAN — the movement to disaggregate proprietary radio access network hardware and software into interoperable components — has gained momentum but still accounts for a relatively small share of global deployments. The OCUDU initiative addresses a persistent gap: the absence of a vendor-neutral, carrier-grade, open-source software foundation for CU and DU layers.
The foundation plans to release updated versions of the OCUDU stack every six months through 2028, with the three-year project targeting a minimum viable carrier-grade network solution. Its technical roadmap includes AI-driven RAN optimization, next-generation physical and MAC layer development, security hardening, and energy efficiency improvements.
Whether OCUDU can achieve the transformative scale its backers envision will depend on sustained vendor participation and interoperability testing. But with backing from the U.S. Department of Defense, nine of the largest names in telecommunications, and a governance model proven by decades of Linux Foundation stewardship, the project represents the most significant open-source effort yet aimed at the foundational software layer of wireless networks.