Build the Networks That Connect Communities

The BICSI Outside Plant Designer™ (OSP) certification validates the expertise needed to design reliable telecommunications infrastructure that connects communities and businesses.
Build Your OSP Career

Design the Infrastructure That Connects Locations 

Telecommunications infrastructure does not stop at the building. 

Networks depend on outside plant infrastructure to create connections across campuses, communities, facilities, and other locations. Designing that infrastructure introduces a distinct set of considerations, from route selection and pathway planning to airports, hospitals, and entertainment facilities. 

The BICSI Outside Plant Designer™ (OSP) pathway provides a specialized direction for professionals responsible for planning and designing telecommunications infrastructure beyond the building. 

Turn Infrastructure Knowledge Into Specialized Design Expertise

OSP design requires professionals to understand how telecommunications infrastructure moves through the physical environment.
The OSP body of knowledge covers route planning, media selection, underground and aerial infrastructure, rights-of-way, bonding and grounding, site conditions, cost considerations, and stakeholder coordination.
The OSP pathway brings these responsibilities together for professionals specializing in outside plant design.

  • Professionals working in outside plant may have responsibilities such as:

    • Outside plant route design
    • Underground infrastructure planning
    • Direct-buried cable planning
    • Aerial pathway and cable design
    • Fiber and copper media selection
    • Pathway and space planning
    • Rights-of-way considerations
    • Design documentation
    • Project cost estimating
    • Coordination with installation teams, utilities, owners, and other project stakeholders

  • Depending on employer structure, experience, education, and project responsibilities, roles may include:

    • Outside Plant (OSP) Designer
    • Telecommunications OSP Designer
    • Fiber Optic Network Designer
    • Telecommunications Designer
    • Communications Designer
    • Broadband Network Designer
    • OSP Planner
    • OSP Design Specialist
    • Utility Communications Designer
    • OSP Design Engineer*
    • Telecommunications Engineer*
    • Fiber Network Engineer*

    *Some employers use engineering titles for outside plant design positions. These roles may carry separate education, professional licensure, or other employer and jurisdictional requirements.

    Please note: job titles vary by employer, region, experience, and additional qualifications.

  • OSP specialization may be a natural next direction for professionals with experience in:

    • Cabling installation
    • Optical fiber
    • Telecommunications field operations
    • Infrastructure design
    • Telecommunications consulting
    • Project management
    • Campus or network infrastructure 

    Individuals who hold a TECH, RCDD®, or RTPM® certification, and other experienced telecommunications professionals may use OSP specialization to expand the types of infrastructure projects they are prepared to support.

Build on Your OSP Expertise 

Outside plant expertise may lead toward larger or more complex design responsibilities, senior consulting roles, infrastructure planning, project leadership, or broader telecommunications design. 

Professionals looking to expand from specialized OSP design into broader telecommunications infrastructure design may pursue the RCDD, while those moving toward project leadership may consider the RTPM.

Field technician in a bucket truck working on aerial fiber optic cables and a splice enclosure

Extend Your Career Beyond the Building

Develop the specialized knowledge needed to plan and design the infrastructure connecting networks across locations. 
Explore OSP
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