The main activities are focused on promoting the development and maintenance of ns-3 software. However, the ns-3 project operates separately as an open source project.

The activities that the Consortium oversees are as follows:

• organize an annual meeting for Consortium members; this meeting may coincide with a technical conference or may be an independent event. This event is typically the annual Workshop on ns-3.
• organize and provide for an annual training course for Consortium members, typically held with the annual Workshop on ns-3.
• recommend or fund software development, tests, or documentation based on member contributions.
• administrative items dealing with Consortium finances and project maintenance activities.