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The deregulated atmosphere
Do you know your telecommunications alphabet soup? Do you know what it means to you? This tip, excerpted from Understanding the Network, by Michael J. Martin, published by New Riders, discusses the bewildering acronyms of WAN communications, and tells you what it means to you.
The breakup of AT&T and the BOCs (Bell Operating Companies) was not enough for the U.S. government. They needed to make the U.S. telecommunications system even more dysfunctional (in my opinion) by passing the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA-1996). The TCA-1996 opened what was believed to be the doors of free trade to the once heavily regulated telephone communication industry. It was perceived by some that the separation between IXCs (Interexchange Carriers) and LECs (Local Exchange Carriers) was too restrictive and did not foster competition. So the TCA-1996 removed the separation between IXCs and LECs by allowing them to compete in each other's markets. Now, an LEC could provide long distance and an ISC could provide LATA [Local Area Transport Area] service. This resulted in a long series of mergers between the RBOCs, ITAs, and IXCs, and created a new type of LATA carrier, called the Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). Because the original divestiture agreement had handed all Class 4 and lower offices to AT&T, and the Class 5 offices to the RBOCs, neither the LECs nor the ISCs had the infrastructure to provide service in the other's market. So both had to develop
The breakup of AT&T and the BOCs (Bell Operating Companies) was not enough for the U.S. government. They needed to make the U.S. telecommunications system even more dysfunctional (in my opinion) by passing the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA-1996). The TCA-1996 opened what was believed to be the doors of free trade to the once heavily regulated telephone communication industry. It was perceived by some that the separation between IXCs (Interexchange Carriers) and LECs (Local Exchange Carriers) was too restrictive and did not foster competition. So the TCA-1996 removed the separation between IXCs and LECs by allowing them to compete in each other's markets. Now, an LEC could provide long distance and an ISC could provide LATA [Local Area Transport Area] service. This resulted in a long series of mergers between the RBOCs, ITAs, and IXCs, and created a new type of LATA carrier, called the Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). Because the original divestiture agreement had handed all Class 4 and lower offices to AT&T, and the Class 5 offices to the RBOCs, neither the LECs nor the ISCs had the infrastructure to provide service in the other's market. So both had to develop
