oject Organizational Structure As part of the Access project, TIP initiated an OpenRAN project group with several subcomponents for each part of the RAN. The main goal of this initiative is to develop a comprehensive RAN solu- tion based on COTS, general-purpose computing platforms. These RAN components would be in- terconnected using open interfaces based on open, vendor-neutral software. The objective is to have RAN solutions that benefit from the flexibility and pace of innovation asso- ciated with software-driven developments on fully programmable platforms. This goal should sound very similar to that of another organization, and SO it is no surprise that in February 2020, the Open- RAN project from TIP and O-RAN Alliance announced a liaison agreement. Compared to TIP, O-RAN is more focused on developing and driving the adoption of standards SO that equipment can work together. On the other hand, TIP is more focused on implementation, field testing, and deployment, SO TIP encourages interoperability events such as PlugFests. This ap- proach aims to improve the ability of software and hardware equipment from different vendors to work together. One additional difference is that TIP is more interested in all generations of mobile technology, while O-RAN is much more focused on 4G and especially 5G. For more information on TIP and OpenRAN, see the references at the end of the chapter. 4.7 MEF Forum Founded in 2001, the MEF Forum (MEF) focused on Carrier Ethernet (CE) services and technology covering scalability, reliability, quality of service, and service management attributes. Later, MEF extended its scope and included optical, CE, IP, and Software-Defined Wide-Area Network (SD- WAN) services, as well as orchestration of the service life cycle. MEF is composed of 200+ mem- ber companies, including service providers, carriers, network equipment and software vendors, and other networking companies from across the globe. Compared to networking SDOs like the IETF and IEEE 802.1, MEF dedicates its efforts to alignin