The OCUDU project today announces the release of OCUDU 26.04, a major step toward commercial-grade, open-source CU/DU software for live Open RAN deployments. OCUDU is the next chapter for srsRAN and the foundation for the next generation of open, production-ready RAN. Built for 5G today and designed as a foundation for 6G and AI-RAN development, OCUDU gives the industry a shared, open platform to deploy, extend, and build on. The code has moved, the model has evolved, but the goal remains the same: to make high-quality RAN software open, accessible, and ready for real-world deployment.

OCUDU builds directly on the srsRAN Project, the open-source 5G RAN software developed and maintained by SRS (Software Radio Systems). For existing srsRAN users, this is not a reset. It is the continuation of the same CU/DU foundation under a new project model, with a permissive BSD license, public development on GitLab, and neutral governance under the Linux Foundation.

Neutral Governance Under the Linux Foundation

OCUDU is now governed under the Linux Foundation, giving the project a neutral home for wider participation from operators, vendors, system integrators, government, universities, labs, startups, and individual contributors.

This governance model is designed to support open technical collaboration while reducing the risk of single-vendor control. OCUDU is structured to grow through broader community participation, shared requirements, open contribution, and independent validation, without being tied to the roadmap of any single organisation.

For adopters, this matters. OCUDU is no longer a project controlled by one company. It is an open technical project with neutral governance, a growing ecosystem, and a structure designed to support long-term adoption.

A Permissive Open-Source License

The srsRAN Project was licensed under AGPLv3. OCUDU is licensed under the permissive BSD 3-Clause Open MPI license. This is a significant change for users who want to develop products and services using OCUDU.

Previously, integrating srsRAN into a commercial product required careful license compliance. Under BSD, that barrier is removed. The BSD license gives users more flexibility in how they use, modify, integrate, and deploy the software.

For companies and system integrators, this makes it easier to build products and services around OCUDU. For researchers and government partners, it simplifies the path from development to deployment.

A Change Built Around Continuity

OCUDU is designed to carry the srsRAN community forward, not leave it behind. Many users have built platforms, testbeds, integrations, CI flows, and products around srsRAN. The goal is to protect that investment while making the project easier to adopt, easier to contribute to, and easier to use as a foundation for commercial Open RAN development.

OCUDU gives the Open RAN community a full CU/DU software base that can be studied, modified, integrated, validated, and deployed without starting from scratch. It is built for real engineering work: from live production network deployments and commercial integration to advanced research and future 6G development. The aim is simple: make high-quality, commercial-grade RAN software easier to access, easier to build on, and easier to improve as a community.

OCUDU also launches with a strong founding member ecosystem, including AMD, AT&T, Ericsson, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Verizon. This support reflects the project's production focus: open, interoperable, and commercial-grade CU/DU software that can support real deployment needs across operators, vendors, silicon providers, and system integrators.

What Is Changing and Where to Find OCUDU

The srsRAN GitHub repository, which has been the home for years of community contributions, issues, and development, has now been archived. It remains available for reference, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed to making it what it was. It will no longer receive updates.

The previous discussion forum has also closed, and the existing srsRAN documentation will remain online as a historical reference rather than an actively maintained source.

From this release forward, the OCUDU GitLab project is the source of truth for code, issues, merge requests, and project development: https://gitlab.com/ocudu

The OCUDU documentation is now the main reference for installation, configuration, development, integrations, and user guidance: https://ocudu.gitlab.io/ocudu_docs

We are actively improving these resources to make the transition as straightforward as possible for existing srsRAN users, and to ensure OCUDU is easy to approach for those coming to the project for the first time.

For questions, issues, and community engagement related to OCUDU, users should follow the support and community links listed in the OCUDU documentation.

For questions related to archived srsRAN versions, the existing srsRAN documentation remains available as a reference.

SRS Technical Leadership Continues

SRS continues to lead OCUDU's technical development through the project's Technical Steering Committee. The same engineering team that built and maintained the srsRAN CU/DU foundation remains closely involved in the project.

That work is now tied to a clear multi-year roadmap. Over the next three years, OCUDU will expand toward the ATIS Minimum Viable Profile for Open RAN and add FutureG-prioritized 3GPP features. New capabilities will be tested and validated with third-party partners, including NTIA test facilities, O-RAN OTICs, NSF labs, and NIST open-source standards labs, to build confidence for commercial and operator deployment.

In practice, this means OCUDU is not just changing where the code lives. It is moving into a more structured phase of development, validation, and ecosystem growth, with production deployment as the primary objective.

What Is New in OCUDU 26.04

OCUDU 26.04 includes new and expanded capabilities across radio performance, mobility, management, positioning, and acceleration:

• Expanded spectrum support: FR2 120 kHz SCS
• Stronger uplink performance: UL MIMO, aperiodic SRS, and narrowband SRS
• Enhanced mobility: Xn handover and Conditional Handover
• Improved efficiency and resiliency: RRC_INACTIVE state and Robust Header Compression (RoHC)
• Radio monitoring and positioning: CSI-RS-based RLM and NRPPa using RSRP and SRS
• O1-based management: M-plane support through O1 helper elements
• Hardware acceleration: DPDK BBDEV integration for lower latency and higher throughput

CU/DU Focus

OCUDU focuses on the CU and DU components of the RAN. This focus is deliberate. The CU and DU are among the most complex and deployment-critical parts of the Open RAN architecture, and they are central to building commercial-grade, interoperable networks.

OCUDU is designed to work alongside other open-source and commercial components, including 5G cores, RUs, SMO platforms, and RIC frameworks. This allows operators, vendors, and system integrators to use OCUDU as the CU/DU foundation within broader end-to-end Open RAN deployments.

This gives OCUDU a clear role: to provide a robust, modifiable, standards-aligned CU/DU foundation for Open RAN deployments today and future 6G implementations.

How Existing srsRAN Users Can Move to OCUDU

A full migration guide is in progress. In the meantime, users with existing srsRAN changes can follow this transition path:

1. Update your current work to the latest archived srsRAN version.
2. Test and validate that your existing changes still work on that version.
3. Download OCUDU from the OCUDU GitLab project: https://gitlab.com/ocudu
4. Port your changes onto OCUDU.
5. Test and validate again in your target setup.
6. Continue future development on OCUDU.

More detailed transition guidance will be added as the OCUDU documentation develops.

Getting Started

OCUDU 26.04 is available now.

For existing srsRAN users, the best place to start is the OCUDU GitLab project. This is where new development will happen, including source code updates, issue tracking, merge requests, and future release activity: https://gitlab.com/ocudu

Users moving from srsRAN should follow the transition path above and review the OCUDU documentation before porting existing work.

New users can begin directly with OCUDU by following the current documentation and using GitLab as the active project home.

Visit the OCUDU website to learn more about the ecosystem, governance, and project goals: https://ocudu.org/

Looking Ahead

OCUDU 26.04 marks the start of a new phase for open-source RAN software. It carries forward the proven srsRAN CU/DU foundation, but with a stronger focus on commercial-grade development, independent validation, and live network deployment.

Built on that foundation, OCUDU introduces two important changes: a permissive BSD licence and neutral governance under the Linux Foundation. Together, these give the project a stronger base for long-term growth, broader community participation, and production adoption.

SRS will continue to provide technical leadership, while the wider ecosystem helps shape the future direction of the project through contributions, testing, requirements, integrations, and real-world deployment feedback. This is how OCUDU will grow from a strong software release into a shared foundation for open, interoperable, and production-ready RAN systems.

The project has a new home, but it carries forward the same purpose: giving operators, vendors, system integrators, developers, and researchers the open RAN software foundation they need to deploy real networks today and shape the networks of the future.