Practice Activity 1: Service Provider Types

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The RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Company) were formed as a result of branch out of AT&T and are based on a restructuring agreement that took effect in 1984.The RBOCs were organized into seven regional Bell holding companies: Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Nynex, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell, and US West. The RBOCs are also called the ILECs (Incumbent local exchange carriers). RBOCs are now known as ILECs. RBOCs must meet 14-point FCC criteria to achieve competitiveness: Provide interconnection at any technically feasible point; give access to unbundled network elements; give access to poles, conduits and rights of way; provide unbundled loops; provide unbundled switching; give access to 911 services, directory-assistance services and operator call-completion services; just to name a few. An ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) is a telephone company that provided local service prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which owns most of the local loops and facilities in a serving area. In the U.S., the Regional Bell Operation Companies (RBOCs) that were formed after the divestiture of AT&T and the Independent Operating Companies (IOCs) that is usually located in more rural areas or single cities. CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) is a company that builds and operates communication networks in areas and provides its customers with an alternative to the local telephone company within the existing ILEC’s territory. The term distinguishes new or potential competitors from established local exchange carriers (local exchange carrier) and arises from the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was intended to promote competition between both long-distance and local phone service providers, to compete with the incumbent Regional Bell Operation Companies (RBOC). MSO (Multiple System Operator) is the industry term for "Cable Company.” Each cable

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