Looking at future networks, their perceived capabilities and services, and their increasing
complexity, we see a need for a unified approach to network software, spread across all network elements, that systematically simplifies network operations. In this talk the status of O-RAN (Open RAN) development as a programmable platform is overviewed along with its evolution towards 6G, then UNEXT is introduced as our vision for a unified networking experience that systemically addresses emerging challenges, i.e., autonomous service operation, decentralized environment management, compute service extension, data and knowledge services, and network-application symbiosis, especially from the O-RAN context. |