The 2025 edition of the EUCNC & 6G Summit took place in Poznan, Poland, from June 3 to 6, continuing its role as a premier European event for exploring the future of telecommunications. Supported by the European Commission, the summit brought together industry leaders to discuss progress across the entire technology stack—from 5G deployment to 6G innovation—with a growing emphasis on AI integration, software-defined infrastructure, and open source platforms.

Driving Open Innovation at the Edge

As part of a session dedicated to the software-driven evolution of telecom networks toward 6G, OpenNebula Systems participated in a panel discussion focused on the role of software and open source in accelerating standardized communication technologies. The panel brought together experts who shared key perspectives on how open innovation is shaping Europe’s digital future.

The event highlighted OpenNebula’s critical contributions to IPCEI-CIS—a €3 billion pan-European initiative aimed at strengthening the continent’s sovereignty in cloud and edge technologies. 

Building an AI-as-a-Service Platform for Europe

The panel spotlighted OpenNebula’s efforts to develop a European AI-as-a-Service platform, bridging the entire computing continuum—from centralized AI Factories and Cloud Service Providers to telco-operated 5G edge nodes.

While significant investment is currently directed toward AI training and fine-tuning, we emphasize that equal attention must be given to AI inference—executing models in real-time, close to the user. This is essential for enabling low-latency, energy-efficient AI services. OpenNebula addresses this need by building an open source solution aligned with the IPCEI-CIS Reference Architecture, integrating cloud-native virtualization, 5G, and AI orchestration at the edge.

These technologies are designed to empower European telecommunications companies (telcos) to meet growing computing demands while staying compliant with the EU’s digital sovereignty objectives.

Two Strategic Paths: AI and Open Standards

During the discussion, we highlighted two key areas of innovation from OpenNebula:

1. Edge-Cloud Continuum for AI Inference
   Enhancing performance and efficiency by enabling AI inference at the telco edge, bringing compute resources closer to where data is generated.
   
2. Integration with Open Telco Standards
   Ensuring compatibility with existing and emerging telecom standards, including active participation in initiatives like the Sylva Project. OpenNebula aligns with standards but doesn’t wait for them, focusing instead on the evolving needs of users and operators.

We also reiterated OpenNebula’s commitment to open source, through an Apache v2 licensing model that ensures openness, sustainability, and vendor neutrality.

Looking Ahead

The 2025 EUCNC & 6G Summit once again demonstrated that the future of telecom is open, intelligent, and sovereign. With its substantial presence in initiatives like IPCEI-CIS and its commitment to building an AI-native, standards-aligned edge infrastructure, OpenNebula Systems is playing a vital role in making that future a reality.

Stay tuned to OpenNebula Systems for continued updates on how its open source technology is powering Europe’s next-generation telco cloud.

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