One of the open source platforms which was initiated by AT&T, and has gained significant support with other operators, is Open Network Automation Protocol (ONAP). Hosted by the Linux Foundation and based heavily on AT&T’s internal project, ECOMP, plus code from China Mobile, ONAP provides a management and orchestration (MANO) layer for a virtualized, automated network. Critics argue that ONAP is already anachronistic and clumsy to deploy, and that when true cloud-native networks are implemented – essential to the full vision of 5G economics – most of these MANO functions will be driven down into the Kubernetes containers which will provide the foundational elements. Vendors and operators argue about how many functions will still require their own MANO layer, but…