In 1998, a large number of companies representing the telecommunications and electrical industries expressed concern over the lack of a standard for installation of telecommunications premises cabling systems. The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) asked BICSI to jointly undertake the task of developing the required standard. BICSI accepted the task and the project was assigned to BICSI/NECA Joint Technical Committee 1 for the "Development of Telecommunications Cabling Installation Guidelines."

NECA/BICSI 568 describes minimum requirements and procedures for installing the infrastructure for telecommunications, including balanced twisted-pair copper cabling and optical fiber cabling that transport telecommunications signals (e.g., voice, data, video). This standard also is intended to be used in describing a "neat and workmanlike manner," as referenced by ANSI/NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code® (NEC®).