Guest: Arpit Joshipura (LinkedIn) 
Organization: Linux Foundation (Twitter) 

With 5G in full deployment, there is already a significant focus on what the future of connectivity may bring. The Linux Foundation, at the heart of this movement, has made several announcements while at the 2023 Open Source Summit in Bilbao, Spain about the launch of new projects and initiatives that aim to enable more efficient and innovative global connectivity solutions.

In this episode, Arpit Joshipura, General Manager of Networking, Edge/IoT, and Energy at Linux Foundation, talks about the recent announcements from the Linux Foundation and the current trends in the telecom sector. Joshipura also talks about some of the key focuses for LF Networking and what he feels the future holds for connectivity as it transitions to 6G.

Highlights of this interview:

• Joshipura gives an overview of the first day of the Open Source Summit, from the reception of his keynote to engaging with people on a one-on-one basis.
• Linux Foundation made three major announcements: a project led by Deutsche Telekom called CAMERA that exposes APIs, an LF EU project called Sylva, an open-source telco cloud stack, and the expanded partnership with ETSI.
• Joshipura talks about the commercial aspect of open source projects and the cycle of building the “plumbing layer” of software and vendors differentiating on top so that they can sell it as a product, support it, and monetize it. He talks about how monetizing through CAMERA is a different kind of monetization.
• Networking and energy are critical infrastructures so understanding how to secure and operate them is crucial for both LF Networking and LF Energy. Joshipura discusses how telecom has transitioned from proprietary infrastructure and solutions to an open-source world and how LF Energy is now paving the way to do the same in the energy sector.
• Joshipura explains that there are four layers in AI and that LF Networking is focusing on telecom-specific domain AI, including data sharing and AI models. He talks about the community’s focus on deciding on the top 10 use cases.
• 5G has brought in lower latency and IoT connectivity enabling new use cases like private networks and connected cars; however, Joshipura believes that the next stage, 6G, will be primarily focused on AI. He talks about what progression he expects to see as we transition to 6G.
• Joshipura talks about the future of connectivity and how 3GPP is forging the way forward for global macro connectivity. He goes on to talk about the open source umbrella project, LF Connectivity, and some of the sub-projects they are working on.

This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.