As telecommunications networks evolve, the Cloud Native Telco Initiative (CNTi) is leading the way in modernizing the industry through cloud-native technologies and practices. Featured in the LF Networking 2024 Annual Report, the following update highlights CNTi’s progress, milestones, and impact on the telecom ecosystem.
CNTi Project Update
The mission of the Cloud Native Telecom Initiative (CNTi) is to accelerate the adoption of cloud-native technologies and practices in telecom networking. Achieving widespread adoption requires overcoming various ecosystem challenges and roadblocks, such as those highlighted by Communications Service Providers (CSPs) in the NGMN Cloud Native Manifesto.
To address these, the CNTi collaborates closely with other open-source networking projects to establish best practices for cloud-native networking, improve an open-source Cloud Native Network Function (CNF) testing framework, and develop a vendor-neutral CNF conformance program. Through these efforts, the CNTi aims to empower operators to confidently adopt cloud-native patterns, unlocking the benefits of performance, scalability, and security while enhancing predictability across diverse cloud-native infrastructures.
Summary
The Cloud Native Telco Initiative (CNTi), under the umbrella of LF Networking, achieved remarkable progress in 2024, focusing on accelerating the adoption of cloud-native workload best practices within the telecommunications industry.
Key Highlights Include:
- Onboarded as an official LF Networking Sandbox project
- Successfully transferred agreed CNCF assets to CNTi, providing a solid foundation for best practices, cloud-native workload testing, and a certification program
- Achieved monthly releases of the CNTi test suite, bringing a wide range of new features and improvements, including:
✔ Documentation simplifications and enhancements
✔ Test case runtime optimizations
✔ Enhanced console output for more informative execution
✔ Addressed multiple test issues and provided fixes
✔ Conducted thorough internal code refactoring
✔ Improved the stability of our CI/CD pipeline
✔ Hardening of code and verification workflows
✔ Added new functionality supporting collaboration efforts with the Sylva Validation program - Launched the first beta Cloud-Native Network Functions (CNF) Certification Program, ensuring greater alignment and standardization across telecom applications
- Participated in multiple open source programs, including speaking at ONE Summit NA and participating in the Open Source Summit in Vienna
2024: A Year of Impact
In 2024, the Cloud Native Telco Initiative solidified its role as a cornerstone for modernizing telecom networks. Its advancements in cloud-native technologies, standardization efforts, and ecosystem collaboration continue to drive innovation, enabling telcos to deliver more agile, cost-effective, and high-performance networks.
Learn More in the Full Report
The LF Networking 2024 Annual Report dives deeper into CNTi’s progress and its broader impact on the telecom industry. Discover how LF Networking is shaping the future of cloud-native networking. Read the full report here.
