Q: Why participate in The Quilt?

A: Quilt participants are our country's leaders in advanced networking in support of research and education. The Quilt provides a national forum for these leaders to collaborate on items of importance to serving our members' missions. The Quilt advocates on behalf of our members' interests with national and multi-regional organizations, such as federal government funding sources and optical network equipment providers. Our members leverage the collective consortia and buying power of The Quilt which contributes to the value each member provides to their participants. For instance, since 2002 The Quilt participants have saved over $68 million on Commodity Internet Services by using Quilt-negotiated rates.

Q: Who can become a participant?

A: At the sole discretion of The Quilt Board of Directors and Executive Committees, participation in The Quilt is open to:

• Non-profit regional network aggregators providing advanced network services in support of research and education, and/or
• Organizations invited by The Quilt Board of Directors that demonstrate leadership and collaboration in advanced networking.

Participation requirements are reviewed on a yearly basis.

Q: What is the process to follow to request becoming a member or affiliate participant?

A: Send membership request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it asking to be considered as either a member or affiliate participant. Please include the following information in the email:

• Name of organization
• Point of contact
• Number of connections, who they are and speed which they connect
• URL for www site
• Summary of networking activities, especially high-performance networking and research and education activities associated with your organization
• Statement of purpose for requesting to participate in The Quilt

There is no formal application document. However, a suggested membership application template can be found here.

Q: What is the process once the request is submitted?

A: Once the information is submitted, reviewed by the Executive Director and the Quilt Executive Committee, a determination is made that the organization meets the participation requirements. Then, the application is reviewed by The Quilt Board of Directors.

Q: Are groups other than non-profit regional aggregators considered for participation?

A: Other organizations, which demonstrate leadership in high-performance networking and demonstrate on-ongoing interest in the goals and activities of The Quilt, are invited by The Quilt to become affiliate participants. Organizations that have joined under this criterion include CANARIE and Educause. Affiliate participants, as non-voting members, enjoy the same benefits and privileges as other Quilt member participants with the exception of the ability to purchase from Quilt negotiated contracts for goods and services as an Authorized Quilt Buyer (AQB). Affiliate members are not required to pay the annual Quilt participation fee.

Q: What does it cost to become a Quilt Participant?

A: There is a $16,000 annual fee associated with being a Quilt participant.

Q: What are the responsibilities of Quilt Participants?

A: Quilt participants are required to do the following:

• Designate one person to be the Board representative for your organization who will participate in monthly group conference calls and participate in Board activities as requested;
• Designate one person as the technical representative to the Quilt;
• Fill out documentation survey form before becoming an active Participant;
• Contribute to one or more of the projects associated with the Quilt; and,
• Participate in Quilt member surveys;
• Attend face-to-face meetings up to three times a year.