The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) launched several working groups to tackle what executives of the organisation identified as key hurdles to open network deployments, aiming to provide templates based on examples of end-to-end system configurations and business models.

Executive director Attilio Zani told Mobile World Live the move is a “natural evolution” beyond TIP’s work on individual open network components, showcasing how these can be integrated to serve specific use cases. By sharing best practices, TIP is “building certainty that these are the right things to do, both from a technology perspective but also from a business case perspective”.

Initially, four Solution Groups will focus on network-as-a-service; mobile data offload using carrier-grade managed Wi-Fi; connected city infrastructure; and open automation.

TIP chief engineer David Hutton said the groups will produce documentation comprising use case definitions; technical and business requirements for different deployment scenarios; end-to-end architecture needs; and case studies detailing the business model, deployment and operational guidelines used in trials.

Hutton argued the templates will smooth the path for deployments by governments and private companies, which “have been trying to get help for a number of years” to solve connectivity issues, but “find it very difficult when they speak to the industry currently because they’re speaking in two different languages”.

The organisation didn’t provide publishing timelines, but Hutton noted each group will work at its own pace, with the network-as-a-service and mobile data offload groups expected to put out their first releases “very shortly”.