Accelerated standardisation process through early and regular feedback
Collaborative software development
Today, we live in a software-defined world, where nearly all aspects of our ICT systems and services are driven by software.
At ETSI, most specifications are also ultimately realised through software implementations. Developing good software requires specific expertise, discipline, tools, and support – resources not typically available in conventional standards committees. This gap highlights the need for a more structured approach to software development alongside standardisation efforts.
To address this, we defined Software Development Groups (SDGs); a framework for collaboratively developed software in support of standardisation.
Creating software in tandem with standardisation provides several significant benefits:
Higher quality standards thanks to earlier validation
Broader adoption through the availability of software and tools
Discover our SDGs
Software Development Group (SDG)
SDG Open Source MANO
Developing a production-grade Management and Orchestration Stack aligned with ETSI NFV standards, enabling the design and management of virtualised and cloud-native network services across public...
Software Development Group (SDG)
SDG OpenOP
Open-source Operator Platform enabling operator network and testbed federation; standardised capability exposure APIs for interoperable and developer-friendly solutions across telecom, cloud and AI domains.
Software Development Group (SDG)
SDG OpenCAPIF
Developing an open source Common API Framework, as specified by 3GPP, enabling secure and consistent exposure and use of 3GPP northbound APIs.
Software Development Group (SDG)
SDG OpenSlice
Open-source service-based Operations Support System (OSS) to deliver Network as a Service (NaaS) to meet evolving demands of the telecom industry, building on code seeds...
Software Development Group (SDG)
SDG TeraFlowSDN
Developing an open source cloud native network automation framework to enable smart networks and services for 6G and beyond.
How do Software Development Groups work?
ETSI SDGs bring together ETSI’s strengths in standardisation with the tools and processes necessary for successful collaborative software development. Every SDG operates on a basic governance model derived from ETSI’s long-standing experience in open and transparent standards development.
The model is adapted to cater to SDGs of all sizes, at all stages of development, and it enables participation by non-members of ETSI, including contributions from individual developers. Each group maintains its own detailed working procedures and release management processes, providing feedback to relevant standardisation activities.
What about licences and Open Source?
ETSI Software Development Groups are designed for collaborative software development, therefore each group selects a software licence that best suits their needs. Some groups may prefer to use a well-known open-source licence such as Apache 2.0 while others may prefer to use a licence which is aligned with ETSI’s IPR Policy.
What support does ETSI provide?
ETSI offers comprehensive operational support, including a full-featured development platform (GitLab), discussion channels, conference call and webinar planning, a dedicated website, social media presence, and mailing lists setup. More importantly, ETSI offers technical guidance and support, accompanying each group as they evolve their working procedures or CI/CD pipelines to deliver high-quality software. ETSI SDGs can also maintain their own budget to cover more complex or expensive support needs.
Who can participate?
Initially, a minimum of four (4) ETSI member organisations is required to establish an SDG (though more are recommended). Depending on the setup, non-member organisations and individual developers may also participate by signing a Participant Agreement and a Contributor License Agreement. Participation is free of charge for all ETSI members, together with non-members who are SMEs, universities, public research bodies, user and trade associations, and individuals.
How to set up a Software Development Group at ETSI
It all starts with (at least) four ETSI members and a common idea for collaborative software development.
The SDG founding members and the ETSI Secretariat will work together to prepare a proposal including Terms of Reference, outlining the purpose of the group, its expected impact, its relationship with standardisation activities in ETSI or elsewhere, and of course the software licence to be employed.
This package will then be reviewed by the ETSI Board before a decision is taken by the ETSI Director-General. Upon a decision to create the SDG, ETSI will then quickly put all the IT tools in place and accompany the group in their first steps… in time for their kick-off meeting, where their leadership team and initial detailed working procedures will be agreed.
Contact ETSI SDG Support
