Nearby Computing helps Telcos and Enterprise customers unleash the potential of Edge Computing through orchestration and automation of MEC and 5G. Its flagship solution, NearbyOne, is an orchestration platform that goes beyond market standards to manage all tiers of the network—from Cloud and Data Center to Edge—from a single pane of glass. Using a cross-domain approach that is fully agnostic, NearbyOne manages hybrid networks at scale through domain-specific as well as comprehensive end-to-end orchestration. The solution covers all critical elements of deployment automation—from the initial Edge node provisioning to application onboarding to lifecycle management. Founded in 2018, Nearby Computing operates globally from its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, and is recognized as a global leader in Edge Orchestration.
Nearby Computing contributes the orchestration layer to UNITY-6G. As we move toward cloud-native architectures, where network and application services seamlessly coexist, Nearby Computing ensures the efficient execution and lifecycle management of 5G-ready applications and services, such as xApps. The organization leads efforts related to network exposure APIs (e.g., CAMARA), and delivers advanced AI/GenAI mechanisms for proactive network and service orchestration. This contribution is expected to drive innovation and optimize performance in next-generation network ecosystems.
Participation in UNITY-6G offers multiple strategic benefits to Nearby Computing: (i) the AI/ML models developed within the project will enhance orchestration capabilities, placing NearbyOne in a stronger market position for zero-touch service and network management; (ii) project-specific use cases will open new avenues for collaboration with 5G stakeholders (e.g., telecom operators) and vertical industries (e.g., holographic applications); (iii) the development of new interfaces will reinforce Nearby Computing’s role in standardization bodies such as GSMA OPG and CAMARA; and (iv) the resulting product upgrades will support the company’s involvement in future 6G research projects, where AI-enabled network self-organization will be a core design feature.
Nearby Computing’s participation in UNITY-6G is led by Dr. Angelos Antonopoulos. Dr. Maria A. Serrano and Dr. Godfrey Kibalya lead the contributions in telco cloud and AI-driven orchestration, respectively.
The UNITY-6G project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 101192650. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).