Cumucore demos local roaming API for 6G private networks

Cumucore said it successfully demonstrated a local breakout roaming API through the EU-funded ORIGAMI project, a step toward secure, standards-compliant 6G architectures for private and non-public mobile networks. The work shows how roaming traffic can stay local instead of being routed back to a home network, which could give operators and enterprises more control over performance and security.

Why it matters: - The demonstration points to a way private and non-public mobile networks could handle roaming with more control, lower traffic movement and stronger security. - The architecture is designed to keep roaming traffic local while remaining standards-compliant, which matters for operators and enterprises building next-generation networks. - The work also supports 6G research aimed at separating the needs of public mobile networks from non-public networks.

What happened: - Cumucore said it successfully demonstrated a local breakout roaming API as part of the EU-funded ORIGAMI project. - The demonstration focused on future 6G network architectures for private and non-public mobile networks. - ORIGAMI — Optimized Resource Integration and Global Architecture for Mobile Infrastructure for 6G — is researching architectural options for next-generation mobile networks. - The project says it ran during the 2024–2026 period.

The details: - In non-public mobile networks, roaming can be managed without sending traffic from the visited network back to the home network. - Cumucore and ORIGAMI partners designed and demonstrated local breakout functionality for that use case. - Jose Costa-Requena, CEO of Cumucore, said the setup uses NEF and SEPP functionality together with network slicing structures to provide a roaming scenario that is managed and secured locally while staying standards compliant. - Costa-Requena added that future 6G architectures are expected to tighten integration between the Radio Access Network and the Core. - Andres Garcia-Saavedra, Principal Research Scientist at NEC Laboratories Europe, said ORIGAMI has been running for more than 30 months and has produced research results across more than 30 use cases. - Garcia-Saavedra said non-public mobile networks are a rapidly growing way to build communication services with unique requirements. - Andra Lutu, Principal Researcher at Telefónica, said keeping roaming traffic local while staying standards-compliant gives operators and enterprises more choice in how they build and control networks. - Lutu said ORIGAMI aimed to prove that 6G architecture can be flexible enough to support new operational models. - Cumucore describes itself as a Finnish provider of cloud-native private mobile network software for enterprise, industrial, research and mission-critical applications. - Cumucore says it has deployed about 100 private mobile networks worldwide since its founding in 2014. - Cumucore says those deployments span manufacturing, mining, logistics, public safety, broadcasting, research and smart infrastructure. - Telefónica said it has 299.8 million customers and focuses on Spain, Brazil, Germany and the UK. - ORIGAMI is funded by the European Commission through the 6G Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking. - The ORIGAMI consortium says it worked to advance architectural models for next-generation mobile networks and remove barriers to 6G technologies. - More information is available on the official project website.

Between the lines: - The demonstration suggests that 6G network design may be more modular than today’s public mobile network model. - Local control over roaming traffic could appeal to enterprises and operators that want tighter governance over data paths and service differentiation. - The focus on standards compliance matters because private-network innovation often has to fit into broader telecom rules and interoperability requirements.

What's next: - ORIGAMI’s findings will feed into ongoing 6G architecture research as the industry moves from 5G toward next-generation networks. - The project’s results could inform how vendors and operators design non-public networks with local control, slicing and integrated core functions. - Cumucore and project partners are positioning the demonstration as a reference point for future private-network deployments and 6G development.