Outsourcing services consist of the management and operation of a customer's network (voice, data and video), which allows the customer to focus on their core business. Such agreements are Wide Area Network (WAN)-centric, but can involve the management of Local Area Network (LANs). Full scope outsourcing agreements include the transfer to or acquisition by the vendor (on behalf of the customer), of non-shared assets (people, equipment, facilities, telecom lines, etc.) as part of the outsourcing agreement.

A company may outsource any or all of the network components of their IT function's "value chain", contracting with multiple external suppliers for individual components or contracting with a single provider for a comprehensive package of activities. Network-related IT functions, such as applications and computing, may or may not be included in the scope of the network outsourcing contract.

Network outsourcing involves the transfer of responsibilities and often physical assets from the customer to the provider so that the provider may continue to supply a full range of custom network services based upon the customer's unique requirements and network configuration. This definition includes, but may not be limited to, the following networking elements: Voice, Data and Video networking; Transport (Circuits), Hardware, Software and People; Wide Area, Local Area and Internetworking.