A Glossary from The Discount
Long Distance
and Conference Call Specialists
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911
Service Fee
This fee appears on
local telephone bills in some areas to support the emergency 911 telephone
service.
Automatic Number
Identification (ANI)
A service that
provides the receiver of a telephone call with the number of the calling
phone. (This is what makes caller ID work.)
Baby Bells - See BOC
Ballot
A release form that
authorizes a customer's long-distance phone service to be switched to (another)
long-distance carrier, or reseller. See LOA.
BOC - Bell
Operating Company (Baby Bell)
The local (or regional)
telephone company that owns and operates lines to customer locations and
Class 5 Central Office Switches. BOCs have connections to other COs, Tandem
(Class 4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs like
WorldCom, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc. (The BOC role was originally defined
by the 1982 Modified Final Judgement that specified the terms of the AT&T
Divestiture). Each BOC may service more than one LATA,
but BOCs are generally constrained from providing long distance service
between LATAs.
Billing
Increments
The time increment used to determine
the length of a call. Providers charge per minute or per 6-seconds or some
other time increment.
BTN - Billing
Telephone Number
The phone number associated, for billing purposes,
with a Working Phone Number.
Calling
Card
A telecommunication
credit card with an authorization code for using a long distance carrier
when the customer is away from their home or office.
Carrier
A telecommunications provider which owns switch
equipment.
Carrier
Line Charge - See PICC
Country
Code
Two or three digit
codes used for International calls outside of the North American Numbering
Plan area codes. Dial: 011 + country code + city code + local phone number).
Customer
Line Charge - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
Cutover
The exact date/time
that a phone number, circuit, etc. is (or was) scheduled to be moved from
one carrier to another.
Dial
Around Service
Dial Around service
refers to the services provided to you through access codes and numbers
which allow you to bypass your Primary
Interexchange Carrier. These may be 10-10-XXX, toll free access numbers,
and/or calling cards. Dial around normally refers to services accessed
from your primary telephone.
Direct
Dial (1+ Service)
This is the service
you receive from your Primary
Interexchange Carrier, the long distance company that is automatically
accessed when a customer dials 1+ Area Code + Number.
Directory Assistance - DA
An information service
whereby operators assist customers in obtaining the telephone number(s)
they wish to call.
Default
Carrier
Your regular Direct
Dial carrier. Calling 1-700-555-4141 will identify your default carrier.
FCC - Federal
Communications Commission
Regulates interstate
communications: licenses, rates, tariffs, standards, limitations, etc.
Federal
Access Charge - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
FCC
Approved Customer Line Charge - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
Federal
Excise Tax
This tax appears on
both your local and long distance phone bills. It is charged as a set percentage
regardless of which telephone service provider you use.
Federal
Subscriber Line Charge - Aka: Federal Access Charge, Customer
Line Charge, Interstate Access Charge, Interstate Single
Line Charge, FCC Approved Customer Line Charge, Subscriber
Line Charge or SLC
This federally mandated
charge is billed by your local telephone company and pays part of the
cost to the local telephone company of supplying a phone line into your
home
or business. It is designed to help local phone companies recover the
cost of providing "local loops" which refers to outside telephone wires,
underground conduit, telephone poles, and other equipment and facilities
connecting
you to the telephone network. This is NOT a tax. It is a charge
that is part of the price you pay to your local telephone company. Neither
the FCC nor any other government agency receives the
Federal Subscriber Line Charge and the FCC places a
cap on this charge.
Gross Receipts
Tax Surcharge - See State and Local
Taxes
IC - See IEC
IEC - Interexchange
Carrier
IC - IXC (IEC is preferred).
A company providing long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
Inbound Toll
Free Service
Provides a toll free number
or numbers for incoming calls (these numbers often share a line with
a non-toll free number)
Interexchange
Communication between
two different LATAs.
InterLATA
Communication between LATAs.
International
Between nations.
Interstate
Between states. Interstate
communications are regulated by the FCC.
Interstate
Access Charge - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
Interstate
Single Line Charge - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
Interstate
Tax Surcharge - See State and Local
Taxes
IntraLATA
Communication within
a Local Access Transport Area. LECs are allowed to handle
these calls without an IEC.
Intrastate
Communication within
a single state. Intrastate communications are regulated by each state's PUC.
IXC - See IEC
LATA
Local Access Transport
Areas are geographic service areas defined in the AT&T Modified Final
Judgement that specified the terms of the AT&T Divestiture. 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.
LEC - Local
Exchange Carrier
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.
LEC
Billing
Arrangement whereby
the Local Exchange Carrier invoices the customer for some or all telecommunications
services.
LOA - Letter
Of Agency
A document that authorizes
changing a service provider.
LNP - See Local
Number Portability
Local Access - Aka 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
Number Portability - Aka: Number Portability Service Charge or LNP
This fee allows local
telephone companies to recover costs associated with supporting the technical
capability to allow a consumer or business to retain their existing telephone
number when switching to another local provider. Local companies are allowed,
but not required, to pass on these costs. Most do. They are only allowed
to charge this fee for five years from the first date they start to charge
the fee, and are not allowed to start charging the fee until they can provide
the ability to the end-user of retaining their phone number in the event
of switching local telephone companies.
Long
Distance Carrier
A company providing
long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
Minimum
Call Length
Some long distance
providers require that each call be at least some minimum number of minutes
in length. The provider will charge you at for at least this minimum length
of time regardless of how long your call lasts.
Minimum
Monthly Bill
This is minimum amount
you will be charged per month for a calling plan. This amount may include
a Monthly Service Charge, Monthly
Minimum Usage Charge, PICC, or USF charges.
Monthly
Fee - See Monthly Service Charge
Monthly
Service Charge
Some calling plans
charge you a fixed fee each month simply for subscribing to or using their
service. This Monthly Service Charge is not the same as a Monthly
Minimum Usage Charge fee.
Monthly
Minimum Usage Charge
This fee is charged
by some calling plans if you fail to meet a certain minimun dollar amount
of calls per month. For example, a plan may require that you make at least
$20 a month worth of phone calls. If you do not make $20 worth of calls,
the carrier will charge you this minimum fee in addition to the cost of
the calls you did make.The Monthly Minimum is not the same as a Monthly
Service Charge.
NASC - 800
Number Administration and Service Center
The organization that
administers the 800 system for the reservation, registration and administration
of all North American 800 numbers for all carriers.
National
Access Contribution - See USF
National
Access Fee - See PICC
Network
Access Charge For Interstate Calling - See Federal Subscriber Line Charge
Number
Portability Service Charge - See Local
Number Portability
One Plus
- 1+
Telephone customer's
ability to access the long distance service provider of their choice by
first dialing 1, then the long distance number.
Payphone
Access Fee
By Federal law, payphone
companies must be compensated by long-distance companies for toll-free
calls made through their phones. Most long distance companies pass this
charge on to you on your long distance bill for calling card calls placed
from a payphone or toll free calls received by you from a payphone.
Payphone
Surcharge - See PICC
PIC - Primary
Interexchange Carrier
The IEC that
1+ calls are automatically routed to, your long distance carrier.
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 Code
A unique identifying
number assigned to each long distance provider. Your local telephone company
uses this code to indicate who your long distance service provider is.
PIC
Freeze
A PIC Freeze prevents
long distance service from being switched for the specified ANIs without
owner authorization to prevent the unauthorized switching of long distance
services, commonly called slamming..
PIC
Request
A request record sent
to a LEC asking for an ANI to be
activated, deactivated or somehow revised.
PICC - Aka:
National Access Fee, Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, Presubscribed
Line Charge, Regulatory Related Charge, or Carrier Line Charge
Long distance companies
pay a flat fee to the local telephone company when you pre-subscribe
your telephone line to their long distance service (called "Dial 1" or "Plus
1" service). This charge is intended to compensate the local telephone
companies for the costs associated with providing "local loop" service.
If a consumer or business has not selected a long distance company for
its telephone lines, the local telephone company may bill for the PICC.
This is NOT a tax. Note that on July 1, 2000 the FCC ruled that
long distance companies no longer will have to pay this fee to local companies
for residential lines, or single line businesses. The charge continues
for multiple line businesses.
POTS - Plain
Old Telephone Service
Presubscribed
Interexchange Carrier Charge - See PICC
Presubscribed
Line Charge - See PICC
Primary
Interexchange Carrier
The long distance company
that is automatically accessed when a customer dials 1+.
Provisioning
The process by which
a requested service is designed, implemented and tracked.
PUC - Public
Utilities Commission
The agency regulating
intrastate phone service.
Regulatory
Related Charge - See PICC
RBOC - Regional
Bell Operating Company
One of the seven "Baby
Bell" companies created by the 1982 AT&T divestiture. The seven
RBOCs include: NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, U.S.
West, Pacific Telesis, and Ameritech.
Slam
An end user that is PICed (or
switched from one long distance company to another) without their permission.
State
and Local Taxes - Aka: Gross Receipts Tax Surcharge, Interstate Tax
Surcharge, State Universal Service Fund
State and local governments
assess this charge in different ways and at different rates. Proceeds go
to the local governing body. It can be imposed on the revenues of local
telephone companies, and long-distance companies operating within a state.
Although these taxes vary by your location, they are the same for all providers
serving that area.
State
Universal Service Fund - See State
and Local Taxes
Subscriber
Line Charge - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
Switching Fee
A per-line fee imposed
by the LEC to reprogram their switching system to change
your default carrier. Subscribers usually pay this fee when switching to
a reseller. Many resellers will reimburse subscribers for this fee.
SLC - See Federal
Subscriber Line Charge
Toll Free Call
A call in which the cost is paid by the owner of the
toll free number dialed, not the caller.
Universal
Connectivity Charge - See USF
Universal
Service Charge - See USF
Universal
Service Fund Charge - See USF
USF - Aka:
Universal Service Fund Charge, Universal Service Charge
All companies that
provide telephone service between states pay a set percentage of their
previous year's billings into the fund. The fund is intended to ensure
affordable access to telecommunications services for telephone customers
with low incomes, telephone customers who live in areas where the cost
of providing telephone service is extremely high, libraries, schools, and
rural health care providers.
WTN - Working
Telephone Number