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Linux Foundation Education lists Introduction to free5GC (LFS114) as a free, online, self-paced course with 3–4 hours of material and 90 days of access. It introduces the free5GC codebase and 5G Core development through architecture, building and running the software, source-code exploration, and debugging. It is aimed at people with working knowledge of Linux and networking—not a professional certification or a job guarantee.

What is LFS114?

LFS114 is a short introduction to free5GC, an open-source 5G core network implementation and Linux Foundation project. The course is designed to help learners understand how free5GC is built, how its core functions operate, and how to navigate and engage with its codebase. The course listing identifies its level as intermediate.

The project describes its work as implementing 3GPP Release 17 and beyond core networks, while also describing an ultimate goal of implementing the 5G core defined in Release 15 and beyond. Those are separate statements from the project; they should not be read as a single claim that every current version meets a particular release specification. See the free5GC project site for its description of the project, architecture, deployment options, and licensing.

Is Introduction to free5GC free, and what does it include?

The LFS114 course listing currently shows a price of $0, online self-paced delivery, 3–4 hours of course material, and 90 days of access. It includes quizzes and assignments, a discussion forum, and a digital badge. The separate Linux Foundation Education launch announcement, published December 15, 2025, says successful completers receive a digital badge and certificate. These are course-completion credentials, not evidence of a professional certification.

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Price, access terms, and course features can change, so check the enrollment page before signing up.

What does the course teach?

The eight chapters move from orientation into the software’s architecture and practical development tasks:

  1. Course Introduction
  2. Foundations of free5GC
  3. free5GC Architecture: Control and Data Planes
  4. Building and Running free5GC
  5. Exploring the free5GC Source Code
  6. free5GC Development Basics
  7. Debugging free5GC
  8. Summary and Next Steps

The launch announcement describes material on the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), and User Plane Function (UPF), including the Go-based control plane and an optional GTP5G data plane. Course work involves running, observing, and troubleshooting free5GC. That makes the course more code-oriented than a general overview of 5G terminology, although its listed study time is still brief.

Who is likely to benefit?

The course is intended for developers, network engineers, and technologists who want to deepen their 5G expertise or explore 5G Core architecture, open-source networking, and telecom systems. It may suit someone who wants a guided first look at a real 5G Core codebase before deciding whether to pursue more extensive study or development work.

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It is less suitable as a standalone route to production expertise: the stated course workload is only 3–4 hours, and the listing does not describe it as a professional certification or make employment promises.

What background do you need?

The course listing expects working knowledge of Linux and networking. Basic 5G Core concepts are helpful, but prior free5GC experience is not assumed. Programming or scripting experience—such as Go or shell—is useful but not required, so you do not need to arrive already knowing Go.

What do you need to run the labs?

The course listing specifies a Linux workstation that supports AVX, at least 4 GB of RAM, and a modern kernel. It recommends Ubuntu 20.04 or later; for other distributions, it specifies kernel version 5.0.0 or higher. Check that your machine meets these requirements before starting the hands-on work. The listing does not say that a new computer is required.

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Is LFS114 the right next step?

Choose LFS114 if you want a free, time-bounded introduction that connects 5G Core concepts with exploring, building, running, and debugging free5GC. If you need deeper instruction, a particular standards-version guarantee, or a professional credential, the course listing does not establish that LFS114 provides those things; review the current syllabus and terms before enrolling.

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