Red Hat OpenShift is now fully Sylva-compliant, enabling telecom operators to deploy 5G core, RAN, and edge functions with validated open source tooling and reduced operational complexity.
Red Hat has announced that its OpenShift platform is fully compliant with version 1.5 of the Sylva framework, an open source cloud software framework focused on telecom and edge infrastructure for European operators. The compliance allows automatic validation of 5G core network software deployment, eliminating manual testing and optimising operational costs.
Technical enhancements include new bare-metal provisioning for flexible deployment and scaling, along with natively integrated security features. The integration positions Red Hat OpenShift as an open source telco cloud solution, building on deployments already in place with telecom giants such as Ericsson, Telefónica, and T-Mobile.
Sylva, launched in 2022 under Linux Foundation Europe, was designed to consolidate a cloud infrastructure layer for telecom and edge services. Its founding contributors include Telefónica, Telecom Italia, Orange, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, and Nokia. The framework relies on open source technology and open APIs to avoid hyperscaler lock-in, drawing from projects such as Kubernetes, Nephio 5G automation, Anuket infrastructure reference, and LF Edge.
Canonical joined the project in 2023 to validate Kubernetes for all major telecom network functions, including 5G core, radio access network (RAN), and far-edge services. Sylva 1.5 supports Kubernetes 1.32 with 12-year long-term support, unifying management of virtualised (VNFs) and cloud-native network functions (CNFs) across private data centres, central offices, and edge sites.
“By converging the cloud layer around open source components with Kubernetes at its core, Sylva eliminates fragmentation. It establishes a single, validated foundation upon which network functions can be certified once and run anywhere, reducing complexity and unlocking the operational agility service providers desperately need,” said Rich Stephens, VP for EMEA Telecommunications, Red Hat.
Red Hat’s move follows SUSE’s recent update to its Sylva-compliant telco cloud, highlighting a broader industry trend toward open source, cloud-native solutions across telecom networks.
