aces on which other standardizing organizations needs to work and does not have stan- dards defined. Some of the deliverables of MEF are: Whitepapers on business case studies, market, and technology Interoperability demonstrations Implementation agreements made by MEF members that use existing standards Test procedures that include testing methodologies and processes on interoperability Written requests to other standards bodies proposing additional technical work Technical specifications and standards Telecom management is one of the four major areas of technical definition and development within MEF, with architecture, service, and test/measurement being the three others. MEF has generated substantial deliverables on telecom management of Ethernet networks including areas of element management, net- work management, and OAM. The work involves development of requirements, models, and definitions to ensure effective management and interoperability across Metro Ethernet platforms. This has lead to a decrease in the CAPEX and OPEX of Ethernet network management. Certification of products and services is another offering of MEF. Some of the certifications provided to ensure compliancy to MEF specifications are: Service Certification for Equipment Manufacturers (MEF 9/MEF 18) Service Certification for Service Providers (MEF 9) Fundamentals of EMS, NMS and OSS/BSS Traffic Management Certification for Equipment Manufacturers (MEF 14) Traffic Management Certification for Service Providers (MEF 14) Only corporate level membership is permitted with MEF. Only corporate can join MEF by paying a predetermined annual fee and no paid individual membership. An unlimited number of employees from a corporate member company can par- ticipate in technical or/and marketing activities of MEF. Completed/released speci- fications of MEF can be downloaded or viewed by anyone from the MEF Web site while working documents can be viewed only by members. Web site: www.metroethernetforum.org 7.8 ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry