Governance

Open by Design
Accountable by Default

ODA is governed transparently — every implementation standard, decision, and Working Group output is available and accessible to members and non-members. No closed-door decisions.

Organizational Structure

How ODA is Organized

Tier 1
Board of Directors
The Board provides strategic oversight, approves the annual roadmap, ratifies Working Group charters, and holds final vote on any changes to ODA bylaws or governance structure. Board seats are held by member organizations elected by the full membership.
Tier 2
Working Groups
Five chartered Working Groups drive ODA's technical and policy output. Each group operates under a Board-approved charter defining its scope, deliverables, and voting rules. Working Group membership is open to all ODA members. Chairs are elected by ODA members annually.
Tier 3
Task Groups
Task Groups are formed within Working Groups to tackle specific deliverables — a use case framework, an implementation standard, a test specification, or a regulatory brief. They are time-bound, output-focused, and dissolved once their deliverable is ratified by the parent Working Group.
Decision-Making & Voting

How Decisions Get Made

01
Proposal Submitted
Any member can submit a proposal — a new feature requirement, a test criteria change, a policy position — to the relevant Working Group. Proposals are logged, assigned, and distributed to group members.
02
Working Group Review
The Working Group reviews the proposal over a defined comment period. Members can endorse, amend, or object. The chair facilitates discussion and ensures all perspectives are recorded in the session notes.
03
Working Group Vote
Following the comment period, eligible members vote. New Task Groups are formed as needed to facilitate newly ratified Working Group proposals.
04
Board Ratification
Proposals that pass Working Group vote are submitted to the Board for ratification. The Board may ratify, return for revision, or escalate to a full membership vote for major standard changes.
05
Published & Effective
Ratified decisions are published to the ODA document library with full version history. All members are notified and the change is reflected in applicable certification criteria on the effective date.
Working Group Charters

Scope & responsibilities

WG1
Device Testing & Validation
WG1 is established as a standing technical working group of the Open Device Alliance (ODA). WG1 is responsible for developing and administering the Alliance’s device testing and interoperability validation programs for end user devices within Enterprise Private Cellular Network deployments. WG1 translates the technical specifications produced by WG2 into executable test plans, pass/fail criteria, and structured compliance matrices.
ODA Test SpecificationLab Approval FrameworkCompliance Criteria
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WG2
Feature & Functionality Enhancements
WG2 is the primary technical body of the Open Device Alliance responsible for defining the use cases, technical requirements, and specifications that characterize a Private Cellular Network (PCN) ready device. WG2 translates the operational realities of enterprise private cellular network deployments into structured, testable specifications that device OEMs, network vendors, and enterprise operators can implement, that WG1 can test and validate devices against, and WG3 can issue ODA Enabled certification against.
Feature Requirement SpecificationsFunctionality RoadmapEnhancement Proposals
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WG3
ODA Enabled
WG3 is the certification standards body of the Open Device Alliance. WG3 defines what it means for a device to be ODA Enabled by establishing the certification framework, specifying the requirements that must be satisfied, and ensuring that the ODA Enabled mark represents a consistent, reliable, and meaningful standard of Private Cellular Network (PCN) capability that the market can trust. WG3 translates the technical specifications produced by WG2 (Use Case + Feature Enhancement) into a structured, market-facing certification program. It defines what WG1 (Device Testing + Validation) must test, at what level, and under what conditions for a device to earn the ODA Enabled mark. WG3 is the authoritative body on the meaning, scope, and governance of the ODA Enabled program.
ODA Enabled CriteriaProgram GuidelinesQualification Process
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WG4
Enterprise & Industry
WG4 serves as ODA's demand-side voice — capturing, validating, and prioritizing enterprise and vertical-industry requirements that inform device-readiness specifications across all other working groups. Where WG2 defines what devices must do, WG4 defines what enterprises and industries need devices to do and validates that ODA outputs actually move the needle on adoption.
Use-Case PrioritizationEnterprise Feedback LoopAdoption Enablement
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WG5
Policy & Regulation
WG5 is ODA's external-facing policy arm. It monitors, analyzes, and engages with regulatory bodies, spectrum authorities, and industry standards organizations to advocate for policy and regulatory outcomes that reduce device-side barriers to private cellular network adoption. Where WG2 identifies what's broken at the device level and WG4 captures why it matters to enterprises, WG5 addresses who has the authority to fix it and develops the engagement strategy to get there. WG5 does not set ODA technical specifications — it consumes them as evidence to support policy positions.
Regulatory Monitoring & AnalysisStandards Body LiaisonPolicy Advocacy Development
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Governance Documents

Foundational Documents

ODA Bylaws
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All Devices. Any Private Network. Always Connected.

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