Open source software has become foundational to Europe’s telecoms infrastructure, underpinning network virtualisation, disaggregated hardware, and the cloud-native platforms operators increasingly depend on. Yet its strategic value – for competitiveness, for digital sovereignty – remains poorly understood by policymakers and insufficiently harnessed across the sector.
A new OpenForum Europe report – entitled “Open Source Software in Europe’s Telecoms Industry: A Vision Paper” – examines the role open source plays in Europe’s telecoms industry today, the structural and regulatory barriers that constrain its potential, and the policy choices that could make it a lever for a more open, horizontal, and sovereign European telecoms ecosystem. The report argues that, with the right policy choices and resources, OSS can help unlock greater digital sovereignty and competitiveness for European telecoms operators without compromising network security or stability, with its analysis being organised around three dimensions: capabilities, ecosystems, and policies.
This session marks the report’s public launch, previewing the report’s findings on the role open source already plays, and could play, in Europe’s telecoms industry. It will help participants identify the main barriers to wider adoption, focusing on the roles of capabilities, ecosystems, and policies, as well as recommendations for how to overcome them. The authors will present the report and then discuss its relevance with a key expert, situating the report’s findings in the context of ongoing EU policy debates.
The session will be 45 minutes and recorded for future dissemination. It will not take place under the Chatham House rule, and all remarks will be publicly attributable.
Agenda
13:00-13:05: Introduction – Laszlo Igneczi (OFE)
13:05-13:10: Note of Welcome – Tim Irnich (SUSE)
13:10-13:30: Report Presentation – Nicholas Gates and Ola Adach (OFE)
13:30-13:45: Fireside Chat – Nicholas Gates (OFE) and Tim Irnich (SUSE)