N - O - P - QR - S - T - U - V - WXYZ

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LATA

Local Access Transport Areas (200 in the U.S.). A geographic service area defined in the AT&T Modified Final Judgement. The RBOCs (baby Bells) and GTE are restricted to operations within, but not between, LATAs. Long distance service within a LATA is provided by the LEC. Service between LATAs is provided by an IEC. LATAs are represented by a 3-character code, and there are 164 of them across the country.

LEC - See Local Exchange Carrier

LEC BAN - Billing Account Number

3-digit number appended to the billing phone number used as the LEC customer number. Groups all ANIs for a customer.

LEC Billing

Arrangement whereby the Local Exchange Carrier invoices the customer for some or all telecommunications services.

LEC Card

The billing arrangement which enables the caller to bill calls to an authorized calling card issued by a local exchange carrier.

LEC Charges

Charges that are the responsibility of the local exchange carrier.

Letter Of Agency - LOA

A document that authorizes changing the service provider. (See RespOrg, 800 Portability)

Local Access

Local Loop. The connection from a subscriber to the Central Office. The portion of a circuit connecting the LEC's CO with the customer's premise equipment across the local network.

Local Access Provider

Any organization that is authorized to provide local access. (May or may not be the LEC.)

Local Exchange Carrier - LEC

The local or regional telephone company that owns and operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central Office Switches. LECs have connections to other COs, Tandem (Class 4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs like WorldCom, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc.

Local Exchange Service

Local phone calls.

Long Distance Carrier

A company providing long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.

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M

Measured Toll Service - MTS

Pay-by-the-minute switched long distance services. Includes conventional long distance and measured WATS.

N

NPA Area Codes, NXX Exchanges and XXXX Line Numbers

The process for assigning 10-digit (3+3+4) North American telephone numbers NASC - 800 Number Administration and Service Center. The organization that administers the SMS/800 system for the reservation, registration and administration of all North American 800 numbers for all carriers.

(See 800 Portability, RespOrg and SMS/800)

NPA - Numbering Plan Areas

North American "Area Codes." (3 digits: 2-to-9, 0-or-1, 0-to-9. Middle digit to expand soon)

NPA-NXX Routing

Area Code / Exchange Routing. Route calls based on the originating ANI NPA-NXX.

NPA Routing

Area Code Routing. Route calls based on the originating ANI NPA (area code.)

NPA Split

Subdividing an area code, with the creation of a new area code. This is necessary when the number of telephones in an area code (NPA) grows to an excessive number.

NUS

NASC SMS/800 Number Search. SMS application used to find available 800 numbers and reserve them for up to 60 days.

NXX

Exchanges (First 3 digits of a 7-digit phone number). (2-to-9, 0-to-9, 0-to-9) (Digits 4, 5 and 6 in a 10 digit NANP telephone number - NPA-NXX-XXXX).

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O

OCC - Other Common Carrier

Not part of the original AT&T system.

Off Hook

The signal that the telephone receiver has been lifted (activated). Originating off hook activates a dial tone on switched networks. Destination off hook completes a call (and activates minute-by-minute billing for long distance calls).

One Plus - 1+

Customer ability to access the long distance service provider of their choice by first dialing 1, then the long distance number. Equal Access guaranteed by the 1982 AT&T MFJ. 1+ is an outbound service where the calling station pays the charges.

Operator Service Call - OSC

A call that is placed through a human or automated operator (0+).

Operator Service Provider - OSP - OS Provider

The vendor that supplies operator service.

Outbound

Outward Sending - Call Originating - Dialing Out

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P

Payphone

A public (or private) telephone that accepts coins or encoded credit cards.

Person-to-Person

Operator assisted phone call - only billed if the specified person is available.

PIC - Primary Interexchange Carrier

The IEC that 1+ calls are routed to. Specified by ANI.

PIC Charges

A LEC charge for changing the PIC. Often paid by the new IEC. If a LEC sends a PIC charge to a customer, the new IEC will typically credit the customer's account.

PIC Freeze

A PIC Freeze prevents the long distance from being switched for the specified ANIs. Useful to prevent slamming, or the unauthorized switching of long distance services.

PIC Request

A request record sent to a LEC asking for an ANI to be activated, deactivated or changed in some way.

PIC Response

A response record sent by a LEC (corresponding to a previous PIC Request) with a response code that indicates whether the request was performed. (Some LECs return non-standard PIC Response codes.)

PICC

See PICC and USF Fees At A Glance

Point Of Presence - POP

The physical access location interface between a local exchange carrier and an Interexchange Carrier fiber network. The point to which the telephone company terminates a subscriber's circuit for long distance service or leased line communications.

Point-To-Point

Non-switched, dedicated communication circuit.

POP - (See Point Of Presence)

POTS

Plain Old Telephone Service

Primary Interexchange Carrier

The long distance company that is automatically accessed when a customer dials 1+.

Private Line

Uses dedicated circuits to connect customer's equipment at both ends of the line. Does not provide any switching capability (unless supported by customer premise equipment). Usually includes two local loops and an IEC circuit.

Provisioning

The process by which a requested (ordered) service is designed, implemented and tracked (providing the subcomponent parts).

PUC - Public Utilities Commission

The agency regulating intrastate phone service.

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QR

Rate Element

A recurring fixed charge for IEC or LEC service at the lowest level. A local loop may have multiple rate elements associated with it, which make up the fixed portion of the monthly bill. For example: Local Access, Local Mileage, Entrance facilities, Channel Termination, Interexchange, etc.

Rates and Tariffs

Standards published by AT&T, OCCs, LECs, and IECs that define service availability, cost and provisioning procedures.

RBOC - Regional Bell Operating Company

Rebiller - See Reseller

Regional Bell Operating Companies - RBOC

One of the seven "Baby Bell" Companies created by the 1982 Modified Final Judgement that specified the terms of the AT&T Divestiture. The seven RHCs include: NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, U.S. West, Pacific Telesis, and Ameritech. "RBOC" is sometimes used informally to refer to the Regional Holding Companies defined in the 1982 MFJ. (See Bell Operating Companies - There are 19 BOCs).

Regulators

FCC, PUC, Federal Courts (e.g. MFJ), etc.

Reseller - Also known as Rebiller

A long-distance carrier (IEC) that does not own a network, but leases bulk capacity and resells portions of it at a higher rate.

Residential Customer

An individual (non-business) telephone system subscriber.

Responsible Organization - R/O

With 800 Portability, the Number Administration Service Center (NASC) allows the RespOrg to make changes such as carrier, termination, 800 call routing (by time of day, location.) A Letter Of Agency (LOA) must be on file to change the RespOrg for each customer/account.