SONATA · Project

Faster Development and Deployment of 5G Network Services on Standard Hardware

digitalPilotedTRL 7

Imagine you run a telecom company and every time you want to launch a new network service — like a video streaming package or a security filter — you need expensive custom hardware and months of setup. SONATA built a developer toolkit and management platform that lets you create these services as software, test them, package them up, and deploy them on ordinary off-the-shelf servers. Think of it like an app store for telecom networks: developers build services, operators deploy them with a few clicks, and everything scales automatically. The whole thing was released as open source software, so anyone can use and extend it.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries represented

industry partners in consortium

71%

industry ratio in consortium

SMEs in consortium

total project deliverables

The business problem

What needed solving

Telecom operators and service providers face a painful bottleneck: every new network service requires custom hardware, manual configuration, and months of development and testing before it can go live. This makes it expensive and slow to respond to market demands, especially as 5G promises thousands of new service types. The gap between what developers build and what operators can actually deploy remains wide, costing time and revenue.

The solution

What was built

SONATA built two main things: (1) a customized SDK that integrates catalogue access, editing, debugging, monitoring, and service packaging into one developer toolkit, and (2) a service platform with plugin-based orchestration for validating, placing, scaling, and managing the lifecycle of virtualized network services. Both were released as open source. The project produced 21 deliverables including a final demonstration with validation results and a roadmap to adoption.

Audience

Who needs this

Telecom operators building or expanding 5G infrastructureManaged service providers offering network-as-a-serviceEnterprise IT teams deploying private 5G or SD-WAN networksNetwork function developers building virtualized servicesSystem integrators specializing in telecom modernization

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Telecommunications

enterprise

Target: Network operators managing 5G infrastructure

If you are a telecom operator dealing with slow, expensive rollouts of new network services — SONATA developed an open-source service platform with plugin-based orchestration that lets you deploy virtualized network functions on commodity hardware. The SDK integrates editing, debugging, and monitoring tools so your teams can package and ship services faster. Validated through pilot implementations across a consortium of 17 partners from 8 countries.

Managed IT Services

mid-size

Target: Cloud and managed service providers offering network-as-a-service

If you are a managed service provider struggling to customize network functions for each client — SONATA built an SDK and orchestration platform that lets you compose, validate, and deploy tailored network services as software packages. The plugin architecture means you can plug in custom scaling and placement algorithms without rebuilding the platform. The tools were demonstrated and released as open source for adoption.

Enterprise IT

enterprise

Target: Large enterprises running private 5G or SD-WAN deployments

If you are an enterprise IT team rolling out a private 5G network and need to manage virtual network functions across sites — SONATA developed a service platform that handles continuous placement, scaling, and lifecycle management of composed services. The platform validates service packages before deployment, reducing configuration errors. With 12 industry partners involved in development, the tools were built for real operational needs.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt SONATA's tools?

SONATA released its key SDK and platform components as open source software, so the tools themselves are free to use. Your main costs would be integration effort, training your development team, and the commodity server hardware to run virtualized services on. No licensing fees were indicated.

Can this handle production-scale telecom networks?

The project validated its approach through pilot implementations driven by real use cases, with 12 industry partners including ATOS Spain as coordinator. The orchestration platform was designed for continuous placement, scaling, and lifecycle management. However, moving from pilot to full production scale would require additional hardening and testing specific to your network.

What is the IP and licensing situation?

Key SDK and platform components were released as open source software. This means you can use, modify, and extend the tools. Specific license terms would need to be checked on the project's repositories, but the open-source commitment was a core part of the project's dissemination strategy.

How mature is this technology — is it ready to deploy?

SONATA was an Innovation Action (IA) that ran from 2015 to 2017 and completed final demonstrations with validation results. The technology reached pilot stage with working prototypes tested in real scenarios. As a 2017 project, some components may have evolved into commercial products through partner companies.

How does this integrate with existing network infrastructure?

The platform uses a flexible plugin architecture specifically designed for extensibility. Service developers can provide custom algorithms for orchestration, placement, and scaling that work alongside existing systems. The SDK supports catalogue access and service packaging, which helps bridge development and operations workflows.

Were standards bodies involved?

The project explicitly contributed to standards as part of its dissemination activities. With 17 partners across 8 countries — including major industry players, universities, and research organizations — SONATA was positioned to influence NFV and 5G standards. Specific standards contributions would be detailed in the project's 21 deliverables.

Is there ongoing support or a community around these tools?

The project ended in December 2017, so direct EU-funded support has concluded. However, the open-source release means a developer community may have formed. Check the project website at sonata-nfv.eu and associated code repositories for current activity and community support channels.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a heavily industry-driven consortium with 12 out of 17 partners (71%) from industry, led by ATOS Spain — a major European IT services company. The 8-country spread across Western Europe and Israel provides strong geographic diversity. With only 2 universities and 3 research organizations, the balance tips decisively toward practical implementation over academic research. The 3 SMEs add agility alongside the larger players. Partners from Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Israel, Portugal, and the UK cover key European telecom markets. This composition signals technology built for real-world deployment, not a lab exercise.

ATOS SPAIN SACoordinator · ES
THALES SIX GTS FRANCE SASparticipant · FR
INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUMparticipant · BE
SYNELIXIS LYSEIS PLIROFORIKIS AUTOMATISMOU & TILEPIKOINONION ANONIMI ETAIRIAparticipant · EL
ALTICE LABS SAparticipant · PT
TELEFONICA INVESTIGACION Y DESARROLLO SAparticipant · ES
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH "DEMOKRITOS"participant · EL
OPTARE SOLUTIONS SAparticipant · ES
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLCparticipant · UK
ATOS CONSULTING CANARIAS SA UNIPERSONALthirdparty · ES
NEC EUROPE LTDparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDONparticipant · UK
ATOS IT SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES IBERIA SLthirdparty · ES
FUNDACIO PRIVADA I2CAT, INTERNET I INNOVACIO DIGITAL A CATALUNYAparticipant · ES
UBIWHERE LDAparticipant · PT
UNIVERSITAET PADERBORNparticipant · DE
NOKIA SOLUTIONS AND NETWORKS ISRAEL LTDparticipant · IL

How to reach the team

ATOS Spain SA is the coordinator — their NFV and 5G division would be the right contact point for follow-up on SONATA's tools and platform.

Order a report on this consortium See ATOS SPAIN SA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how SONATA's open-source NFV platform could accelerate your 5G service deployment? SciTransfer can connect you with the right people from the consortium.

Order a report on this topic More in Digital & ICT