Local Telephone Companies

Telephone companies called local exchange carriers (LECs) that provide ordinary voice-grade telephone service within a customer"™s immediate geographic area. Services generally include connections to the local service provider and a variety of calling plans and features. Included are incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), the established "local telephone company" in a geographic region; and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), local telephone companies which compete with the incumbent for the local telephone business of customers. CLECs generally provide their own network and switching.