The Open Networking Foundation is an operator led consortium spearheading disruptive network transformation. Now the recognized leader for open source solutions for operators, the ONF first launched in 2011 as the standard bearer for Software Defined Networking. Led by its operator partners AT&T, China Unicom, Comcast, Deutsche Telekom, Google, and Turk Telekom. The ONF is driving vast transformation across the operator space. By working closely with network operators and other stakeholders, the ONF has achieved significant momentum with 200 partners, members, and collaborators. By using a unique and curated open source business model aimed at promoting networking through software-defined networking and standardizing the OpenFlow protocol and related technologies. The standards-setting and SDN-promotion group was formed out of recognition that cloud computing will blur the distinctions between computers and networks. The initiative was meant to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications networks, wireless networks, data centers and other networking areas. By December 31, 2013, the organization had 123 member companies. By June 2020 ONF had grown to over 200 member companies. Member companies include networking-equipment vendors, semiconductor companies, computer companies, software companies, telecom service providers, hyperscale data-center operators, and enterprise users. Google's adoption of OpenFlow software was discussed by Urs Hölzle at a trade show promoting OpenFlow in April, 2012. Hölzle is the chairman ONF's board of directors, serving on the board along with representatives of the other five founding board members plus NTT Communications and Goldman Sachs. Stanford University professor Nick McKeown and U.C. Berkeley professor Scott Shenker also serve on the board as founding directors representing themselves. The ONF launched a for products and equipment in the telecom and networking space. As part of certification, the Open Compute Project is collaborating with ONF in this new program to promote the use of OCP-recognized open hardware in ONF solutions. In 2017 the ONF completed its merger with the Open Networking Lab. The resulting entity retained the ONF name in 2017. In 2018 the ONF established its which is responsible for technical strategy and direction of the ONF community including defining and accepting new projects, setting priorities among projects, creating a reference design team and assembling resources. In 2019 the Open Networking Foundation announced the public release of three Reference Designs : SEBA, Trellis and ODTN. In 2020 T-Mobile Poland Announced with the ONF that it had achieved production roll-out of OMEC, the ONF’s Open Source Mobile Evolved Packet Core In 2020 the Open Networking Foundation announced the release of Aether, the first open source platform for 5G, LTE and edge as a cloud services.
