The University of Patras in collaboration with p-NET Emerging Networks & Verticals (p-NET), successfully completed its participation in IMAGINE-B5G Open Call 2, testing the Open Infrastructure Portal (OpenInfra) with LLM enhancements at the Spanish facility over a 12-month period. The trials demonstrated end-to-end 5G/B5G capability exposure, automated network resource control, and natural-language-driven service orchestration, showcasing the potential of AI-enabled, standards-compliant network management for sectors such as PPDR, Industry 4.0, education and media.
IMAGINE-B5G is a Horizon Europe / SNS JU initiative that provides an advanced end-to-end 5G/B5G platform enabling large-scale trials and pilots across Europe. The project federates experimental facilities in Norway, Spain, Portugal, and France, offering SMEs, start-ups, academia, and industry access to test innovative vertical applications and platform extensions. OpenInfra was one of the 15 projects selected in Open Call 2.
The OpenInfra project aimed to address the challenge of bridging heterogeneous 5G/B5G API ecosystems, including 3GPP CAPIF and vendor-specific Network-as-Code (NaC) interfaces, and exposing network capabilities via open-source, standards-compliant service management. The University of Patras in collaboration with p-NET, deployed API translation modules, GUI extensions integrated into OpenSlice, a CAPIF invoker, and an LLM-enabled MCP server at the Spanish facility to test service ordering, QoS allocation, KPI monitoring, CAPIF discovery, and natural-language-driven orchestration. The methodology included live trials, resource synchronization with the Nokia 5G network, GUI demonstrations, and cross-vertical validation with external experimenters.
The project achieved the following results:
- Validated seamless interoperability across heterogeneous 5G/B5G APIs
- Demonstrated automated and AI-driven service orchestration
- Enhanced end-to-end operational capabilities at the Spanish facility.
The project contributed to enhancing interoperability, standardization, and openness within the European B5G ecosystem, enabling developers, SMEs, and vertical industries to access complex 5G/B5G capabilities without extensive integration costs. These results demonstrate the readiness of OpenInfra for further research, commercial pilots, and cross-facility replication, strengthening Europe’s position in the B5G ecosystem.
Both the University of Patras and p-NET plan to further enhance large-scale operations, integrate advanced monitoring and analytics, and support multi-cloud and edge-native orchestration, extending applicability to more complex and distributed 5G/6G environments.