Telecommunications Glossary

Some carriers use different terms and we have tried to include all of these.

800 Number
Toll free numbers charge the business or individual receiving the call, not the caller. The toll free subscriber instead of the person making the call pays the charge for the call.

Billing Increments
How a carrier will round the call time for billing.

60 second increments
Calls rounded to the nearest minute. A 1 minute 25 second call is rounded to 2 minutes.

6 second increments
A 1 minute 25 second call is rounded to 1 minute 30 seconds.

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
The FCC is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions. Regulates interstate communications such as licenses, rates, tariffs, standards and limitations.

Dial Around Service
Typically used with your primary telephone. Provides an access code to dial around your PIC. This can be a 10-10XXX, toll free access number or a calling card.

Federal Tax (Federal Excise Tax)
Appears on both your local and long distance phone bills. Charged as a percentage of your total bill regardless of your telephone carrier. It is 3% of long distance calls and 2.7% of local calls.

Federal Subscriber Line Charge (Subscriber Line Charge, SLC)
Similar to the PICC. Regulated and capped by the FCC. It is not a charge by the government, it is not a tax. The number of calls you place or receive does not affect it. The money is paid to local telephone companies and will be charged to your local phone bill. The SLC fee pays local phone companies some of the costs of telephone lines connected to your home or business.

Interexchange Carrier
Another name for long distance carrier. Provides long distance between LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) and LATA. Ex. AT&T, MCI, Sprint.

Interstate Rate
Rate for state-to-state calls.

Intrastate Rate
Rate for calls made within the state.

LATA (Local Access Transport Area)
Division of telephone service into geographic regions. Used by regional phone service provider to determine which areas are considered "long distance" or "local." This is not represented by area codes or exchange prefixes. Calls outside your LATA ( interlata) are long distance. Calls inside your LATA (intralata) may or may not be toll free, depending on the local phone company. Switching long distance providers switches the calls made outside your LATA. To encourage competition and give consumers more choices, the FCC has ruled that intralata calls can be switched to the provider of your choice. You will be charged the in-state rate for intralata local calls.

LEC (Local Exchange Carrier)
Local or regional company that owns and operates lines to consumer locations.

Local Number Portability Charge (LNP)
The FCC allows local telephone companies to recover certain costs for providing "telephone number portability" to its customers. This charge provides residential and business telephone customers with the ability to retain, at the same location, their existing local telephone numbers when switching from one local telephone service provider to another. This is a fixed, monthly charge. Local telephone companies may continue to assess this charge on their customers’ telephone bills for five years from the date the local telephone company first began itemizing the charge on the bill. This is not a tax.

Local Service
Calls within your local calling area.

Long Distance Toll Service
Calls outside your local calling area. "1" + area code + 7-digit number.

Minimum Billing Increment
Minimum amount of time you will be billed for a call.

Minimum Usage Requirements
Some plans specify a dollar minimum for your total bill. If you don't reach this minimum, you will be charged a set minimum usage fee. Some programs will charge you the difference as a fee. Monthly Fee (Monthly Service Fee, Monthly Access Fee)- Some companies charge a fixed monthly fee paid to your carrier regardless of your usage. This fee is paid in addition to the cost of your calls.

Municipal Charge
Charged by your local municipality to offset the costs of community services such as 911.

Number Portability Service Charge (Local Number Portability, LNP)
FCC approved fee that pays local telephone companies for the expenses of allowing a consumer or business to retain their existing telephone number when switching long distance carriers. This is not a tax and the fee goes to the local telephone company. It is up to the local companies to pass the cost thru to the consumer. Most companies do.

Off Peak Rate
The calling period between 7 pm and 7 am.

Peak Rate
Prime calling hours between 7 am and 7 pm.

PIC Switching Fee
Charged by the local provider when you change long distance carriers. The fee is normally $5-10 and charged on your local phone bill. After your service is switched, some carriers will reimburse the switching fee. To credit the fee, the carrier will probably request a copy of the phone bill with the switching fee.

PIC (Primary Interexchange Carrier)
The primary long distance carrier through which all interstate long distance calls are made (1+ dialing).

PIC Freeze
Consumer arranges with local carrier to prevent changing the user's PIC without permission ("slamming").

PICC (Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, National Access Fee or Carrier Line Charge)
Long distance companies pay local phone companies a flat fee for access to their local phone network. The FCC regulates the price, but this is not a tax and the commission does not require long distance companies to pass these charges to consumers. Each long distance company pays the same flat rate per line and it is up to the company how to distribute this charge. Pay attention the PICC because each company charges differently. Some companies do not charge for the PICC. The PICC charge appears on your long distance bill.

RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company)
One of the original seven local telephone companies (Baby Bells) created as part of the breakup of AT&T. Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis Group, Southwestern Bell and US West.

Regional Toll Service (Local long distance, Local toll)
This calling area includes calls to places outside your local calling area but not as far away as those covered by long distance toll service. Usually itemized on your bill and billed at a per minute rate.

Slamming
Unauthorized switching of your phone service from one your long distance carrier to another without your consent. This practice may involve misleading marketing or outright fraud. Prohibited by Federal law and the FCC. The FCC requires a long distance company to obtain your authorization before changing your long distance provider.

State & Local Municipal Tax
This charge is imposed by state, local and municipal governments on goods and services. It may also appear as a "gross receipts" tax in some states.

Subscriber Line Charge
This charge is mandated by some states’ public service or utility commissions to compensate the local phone company for part of the cost of providing local telephone lines associated with state services, i.e., intrastate long distance and local exchange services.

USF (Universal Service Fund, Universal Service Charge)
(Also called the Universal Connectivity Fee) - Because telephones provide a vital link to emergency services, to government services and to surrounding communities, it has been our nation’s policy to promote telephone service to all households since this service began in the 1930s. The USF helps to make phone service affordable and available to all Americans, including consumers with low incomes, those living in areas where the costs of providing telephone service is high, schools and libraries and rural health care providers. Congress has mandated that all telephone companies providing interstate service must contribute to the USF. Although not required to do so by the government, many carriers choose to pass their contribution costs on to their customers in the form of a line item, often called the "Federal Universal Service Fee" or "Universal Connectivity Fee.