FAQs

Need help? Find answers about TIP below.

About TIP

Q. What is the Telecom Infra Project?
The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is a global community of companies, organizations, and institutions. They’re working together to accelerate the development and deployment of open, disaggregated, and standards-based technology solutions.
Q. Why is the Telecom Infra Project necessary?
The growth of global connectivity has led to extraordinary progress. But nearly half of the world’s population still doesn’t have internet access. For many who do, their connection quality doesn’t provide reliable ways to communicate with others—nor remote working capabilities, access online education, or stream entertainment.

As the digital economy grows – driven by the multitude of consumer and commercial benefits provided by the internet, demand for greater connectivity continues to rise. However, a lack of flexibility in the current solutions, exacerbated by a limited choice in technology providers, makes it challenging for operators to efficiently build and upgrade networks.

TIP seeks to turn this around. With the entire industry working together, it’s accelerating the development and deployment of open, disaggregated, and standards-based solutions. The goal is to create a more diverse technology supply chain that delivers high quality connectivity that the world needs – now and in the decades to come.

Q. How was TIP founded?
TIP was founded by Deutsche Telekom, Intel, Facebook, Nokia, and SK Telecom in 2016. Its diverse membership now includes hundreds of member companies – from service providers and technology partners to systems integrators and other connectivity stakeholders.
Q. How does TIP function?
TIP is a non-profit entity, formed by industry to support the industry. Its focus is on developing and deploying technology to advance global connectivity. It’s led by a board of directors representing leading companies.

TIP is committed to listening to our service provider members and other ecosystem members to:

  • understand their needs
  • identify gaps the industry isn’t addressing and that match the TIP mission

The community proposes or defines specific use cases. It recommends the formation of project groups where members collaborate on solutions. In support of them, TIP’s technical committee plays an important role in identifying a forward path and removing barriers, thus ensuring a clear path to success.

Specifically, TIP is composed of several interlocking elements and works as follows:

  • It spans all areas of the telecom network: access, transport, and core and services. Project groups focus on specific technology verticals. They work to identify key problems, propose solutions, and build the technology that addresses identified problems.
  • Solutions developed by project groups are tested and validated in lab environments through:
    • TIP Community Labs – Physical spaces facilitate collaboration between project group members to build and test solutions
    • PlugFests – Solutions are 1) tested in an end-to-end environment composed of multiple interoperable network elements, and 2) verified for technical readiness.
  • Facilitated by members across many continents and for many use cases (be they ultra rural or dense urban), solutions are then tested in real-world scenarios:
    • Field Trials – controlled, small-scale environments
    • Market Trials – larger, commercial environments
  • As mature technology becomes generally available and is ready to be deployed, it gets listed on the TIP Exchange. And it’s awarded badges signifying the levels of validation performed by the TIP community.
  • Constant feedback between project groups and members who are producing each technology stack piece leads to faster development cycles that address specific needs of operators.
Q. What are Birds-of-a-Feather (BoF)?
Usually held at a TIP event, BoF sessions are where TIP members and other industry professionals identify areas where innovative solutions are most needed.
Q. Who can use TIP Community Labs?
Lab activities are sponsored by a TIP project group and approved by the technical committee. Any community member can participate with these projects and provide solutions or expertise.
Q. What is a TIP PlugFest?
PlugFests are where the community tests and validates TIP technologies in an end-to-end environment representative of service provider requirements. Solutions that are successfully validated also qualify for a TIP Exchange listing.

Our PlugFest website lists a lineup.

Q. What is TIP Exchange?
The TIP Exchange is a showcase of products and solutions validated by the member community. Here service providers can assess the range of technologies available for flexible and innovative connectivity.

TIP members can have solutions listed by demonstrating adherence to TIP specifications and requirements documents—in addition to interoperability requirements demonstrated in PlugFests, Community Labs trials, and field trials. Badges signify the achieved validation level of each listed solution.

Products are not sold directly on the Exchange. Rather, it lists product details as well as contact information for each solution provider.

Q: How do I become a TIP member?
Find out more about how to become a TIP member.

Membership

Q. What is required for TIP membership?
TIP membership is held and managed at the organization level. This means that for persons to participate their employer organization must be a TIP member.

Organizations wishing to join TIP will be asked to set up a membership account and sign the TIP General Participation Agreement.

As part of account setup, organizations should be prepared to assign people to fill two key account roles: Account Administrator and an Authorized Representative. These roles are responsible for ensuring smooth and successful participation in TIP for their organiations. One person may hold both account roles.

To participate in a project group, organizations must also sign the project group’s Charter. Once a Charter is signed, persons may join and participate in the corresponding project group.

Account Administrator
By default, the person who first sets up the organization’s membership account becomes the Account Administrator. If desired, the role may be reassigned to another person after the initial account setup. The Account Administrator is responsible for many important tasks, including managing employee participation, managing their organization’s participation in project groups, and assigning persons to fill other account roles.

Authorized Representative
The Authorized Representative role is assigned to a person by the Account Adminstrator. The Authorized Representative is responsible for signing agreements on behalf of their organization, including the General Participation Agreement and project group Charters. Signatures are required on these agreements in order for an organization to participate in TIP and in project groups. Without the signed agreements, the organization and its employees cannot participate in TIP or in project groups.

Q. The organization I work for is already a TIP member. How do I participate?
To join TIP as an individual, you will need to join your employer organization’s membership account. You may check to see
if your organization is a TIP member by visiting our Members page. If the name of your organization does not appear in the list, it is not a TIP member.

To request admission to your organization’s membership account, go to https://member.telecominfraproject.com/get-started. You will be asked to enter and verify your work email address, enter profile information, and select your organization from a drop-down list.

Once you have completed the above steps, your organization’s Account Administrator will review and respond to your request to join the organization’s membership account

Q. How do I join a project group?
To participate in a project group, an organization must be a TIP member and sign the project group Charter. Once a Charter is signed, people may join and participate in the corresponding project group.

To join a Project Group as an employee of the organization, log in to your TIP membership account, go to the “My project groups” tab, then select the one you wish to join. If a project group is marked as restricted or unavailable to join, you will have the option to request access from your organization’s Account Administrator.

Account Management

Account Administrator

Q. How do I invite fellow organization staff members to participate in TIP?
Account Administrators may invite fellow employees to join their organization’s TIP membership account. To do this as the Account Administrator, first log in to your TIP membership account. In the left-hand navigation, toggle open “Member admin,” then click the “Manage invitations” option. On the Manage invitations page, click the “Invite members” button to begin an invitation. You may enter multiple invitations at once. Be sure to enter work (not personal) email addresses for the invitations.
Q. How do I activate a TIP project group for participation?
The Account Administrator is responsible for managing the organization’s participation in TIP project groups. Project groups must be activated for participation before fellow employees may join and participate. Here are the steps needed to activate a project group:

  1. First, your organization must be a TIP member.
  2. Second, your organization’s Authorized Representative must sign the Charter a for each project group of interest. The Account Administrator is responsible for selecting the project groups the organization will participate in, and for sending the Charter agreements to the Authorized Representative for signature.

    To do this as the Account Administrator, log in to your TIP membership account and navigate to the “Manage project groups” tab. Next, click the “Select” button next to the project group. A dialog box appears allowing you to send the Charter agreement to the Authorized Representative for signature via DocuSign. Signing the Charter permits persons to participate in a project group. Without it, persons may not participate in a project group.

    Once a project group is activated for participation, an automatic notification is sent to all members in your organization’s account, announcing the availability of the project group and inviting them to join.

  3. Third, persons wishing to participate must join the project group(s) of interest to them. This can be accomplished in two ways: The employee may join via the “My project groups” tab in their membership account, or the Account Adminstrator may proactively invite people to join specific project groups.

    Account Administrators may receive requests from fellow employees to activate a project group for participation. These requests appear as notifications on the adminstrator’s dashboard. The Account Administrator may choose whether to take action on the requests.

Q. How do I activate a TIP subgroup for partipation?
Subgroups function under the umbrella of a “parent” TIP project group. They are governed by the parent project group’s Charter, and typically focus on a specialized topic within the parent project group’s scope.

In most cases, to enable participation in a subgroup the Account Administrator simply needs to activate the relevant parent project group. This action automatically activates any related subgroups for participation.

Account Administrators may receive requests from fellow employees to activate a subgroup for participation. These requests appear as notifications on the adminstrator’s dashboard. The Account Administrator may choose whether to take action on the requests.

Q. How do I activate a "restricted" subgroup for participation?
Certain subgroups are “restricted,” meaning there are additional participation requirements that must be met. To activate a restricted subgroup the Account Adminstrator must first activate the parent project group. Next, click “Select” adjacent to the restricted subgroup of interest. A dialog box will appear with instructions.

In addition, certain restricted subgroups require the Account Administrator to proactively invite and/or approve participants.

Account Administrators may receive requests from fellow employees to activate a restricted subgroup for participation. These requests appear as notifications on the adminstrator’s dashboard. The Account Administrator may choose whether to take action on the requests..

Q. How do I end my organization's participation in a TIP project group or restricted subgroup?
Account Administrators have the responsibility to manage their organization’s participation in TIP project groups and subgroups. To end participation in a group as an Account Administrator, first log in to your TIP membership account and go to the “Manage project groups” tab. Locate the group your organization wishes to leave, click “Leave,” then confirm.

Leaving a project group or subgroup will remove your organization and all active members in your organization from further participation in project group activities. This will revoke all access to project group resources, however the Participant’s agreement to grant licenses per section 8.1 of the TIP IPR Policy remains. See the IPR Policy on TIP’s Organizational Documents page.

Q. What are the requirements and responsibilities of an account administrator?
The Account Administrator is responsible for assigning individuals to specific account roles, managing their organization’s project group and subgroup participation, inviting and administering participation by individual employees, and managing the overall membership account setup.
Q. What are the requirements and responsibilities of a primary contact?
The Primary Contact receives all official communications from TIP, particularly those related to their organization’s membership, such as new policies and specification reviews.
Q. What are the requirements and responsibilities of an authorized representative?
The Authorized Representative is authorized to sign the TIP General Participation Agreement and project group Charters on behalf of their organization and to represent their organization and its membership in the Telecom Infra Project.
Q. How do I approve or deny requests from persons to join my organization's TIP membership account?
As Account Administrator, first log in to your membership account and go to the “Manage members” tab. There you will see a list of members and their current membership status. Persons requesting to join your organization’s account will have a “Pending” status. Use the drop-down to change their member status to either “Approved” or “Declined.” Persons making such requests will receive an email notification of your decision.

NOTE: Once a member is set to “Declined” their status cannot be changed by an Account Administrator. Contact TIP support for assistance.

Q. I have project group participation requests on my account dashboard or in my inbox. What do they mean, and what should I do about them?
Project group participation requests come from fellow employees wanting to participate in a group that hasn’t yet been activated. As the Account Administrator, you may choose whether to take action on these.
Q. How do I end my organization's participation in TIP?
To end your organization’s participation in TIP, please provide a notice of termination addressed to TIP’s Executive Director at 401 Edgewater Place, Suite 600, Wakefield, MA, 01880. Termination of your organization’s participation is effective 15 days after TIP’s confirmation of receipt of the notice.

You may send the notice to TIP Support: support@telecominfraproject.com.

Q. How do I transfer the role of Account Administrator to a colleague?
The Account Administrator is responsible for managing the organization’s account role assignments.

As Account Administrator, log in to your TIP membership account and go to the “Organization profile” tab, then to the “Account roles” option. Here you may assign another person to be the Account Adminstrator by selecting them from a drop-down list.

That person must be an approved member of the organization’s TIP memberhip account in order to take over Account Administrator responsibilities. If the person you wish to assign isn’t already a member, you must invite them to the account, and they must accept the invitation before you can proceed.

Q. How do I transfer the role of Primary Contact to a colleague?
The Account Administrator is responsible for managing the organization’s account role assignments.

As Account Administrator, log in to your TIP membership account and go to the “Organization profile” tab, then to the “Account roles” option. Here you may assign another person to the primary contact role by selecting them from a drop-down list.

That person must be an approved member of the organization’s TIP memberhip account in order to take over Primary Contact responsibilities. If the person you wish to assign isn’t already a member, you must invite them to the account, and they must accept the invitation before you can proceed.

Q. How do I transfer the role of Authorized Representative to a colleague?
The Account Administrator is responsible for managing the organization’s TIP membership account role assignments.

As Account Administrator, log in to your TIP membership account and go to the “Organization profile” tab, then to the “Authorized Representative” option. Click the “+Add More” button. There you will have the option to select either a current account member by using the drop-down menu, or an outside party using the “Enter Email and Name” button.

In the case of the Authorized Representative role, the person you wish to assign does not need to be an approved member of the organization’s TIP membership account in order to take over the Authorized Representative responsibilities.

Persons

Q. How do I reset my membership account password?
If you are logged in to your membership account, go to the “My profile” tab, then to the “Login” option. Here you may manage your account password.

If you are not logged in, go to this link: https://member.telecominfraproject.com/forgot-password.

Q. How do I update my profile information?
To update your individual profile information, log in to your TIP membership account and go to the “My profile” tab. Click “Save” after making any updates.

Project Group Participation

Persons

Q. How do I participate in a TIP project group or subgroup?
To join a project group or subgroup, log in to your TIP membership account, go to the “My project groups” tab, then select the group you wish to join. If a group is marked as unavailable or restricted, you’ll have the option to send a participation request to your organization’s account administrator.
Q. How do I end my participation in a TIP project group or subgroup?
Log in to your TIP membership account and go to the “My project groups” tab. Find the group and click the “Leave” button. Leaving a project group or subgroup will disable your access to that group’s tools and resources. You will receive an automated email confirmation.
Q. Who is my organization's Account Administrator?
To find the name of your organization’s account administrator, log in to your TIP membership account. On the right side of your account home screen you’ll see your organization’s name and that of your account administrator.

If you’re not yet an approved member, email TIP Support at support@telecominfraproject.com for assistance.

Exchange

Q. How can my organization have its technology or solutions listed on TIP Exchange?
To have technology or solutions listed on TIP Exchange:

  1. First, your organization must be a TIP member.
  2. Second, your technology or solution must have received a TIP Badge by fulfilling one or more of the Badge requirements.

 

For more information, please go to the Exchange website and click the “Contact Us” button to contact an Exchange team representative.

Billing

Q. What are Participation tiers and dues?
You can view TIP tiers and dues here.
Q: Does TIP accept membership dues via credit card?
Payment can be made via check, credit card, ACH or Wire Transfers. For more information or assistance, please contact Billing@telecominfraproject.com.
Q: Does my organizations participation year start the day we join?
An organization’s participation in TIP begins upon the countersignature of the General Participation Agreement by TIP