Lesson 1: Overview

Front 1

communication at a distance

Back 1

telecommunications

Front 2

a telco that provides telecommunications services within a limited geographical area

Back 2

(LEC) local exchange carrier

Front 3

a local exchange carrier which enjoyed monopoly status before 1996 in its service area, and thus has dominant market share

Back 3

(ILEC) incumbent local exchange carrier

Front 4

a local exchange carrier formed to compete with the ILEC in a particular area; had minimal market share in 1996

Back 4

(CLEC) competitive local exchange carrier

Front 5

a telco which carries long distance calls between LECs in separate LATAs

Back 5

interexchange carrier (IXC)

Front 6

all equipment on the customer side of the network. The subscriber rents or owns the CPE. Common CPE includes telephones, fax machines, PBX switches and so on.

Back 6

(CPE) customer premise equipment

Front 7

the piece of equipment on the customers premises that marks the legal dividing line between the CPE and the PSTN.

Back 7

(demarc) point of demarcation

Front 8

The portion of the dial up switched telephone network that is not on a customer's premises, and is composed of the equipment owned by LECs, CLECs, and IXCs.

Back 8

(PSTN) public switched telephone network

Front 9

a connection between a telephone set and a switch which can handle one conversation

Back 9

line

Front 10

a direct communication line between two switching systems, which can handle one conversation.

Back 10

trunk

Front 11

a central geographical area where all the access lines (wires) come together

Back 11

wire center

Front 12

telephone company building where subscriber lines (local loop) are connected to switching equipment for local and long distance telephone transmissions and other services

Back 12

(CO) central office

Front 13

a switch that only has trunks and can handle only connections between other switches

Back 13

tandem

Front 14

a particular application of a tandem switch. Each metro area contains at least one access tandem, which allows a single point of access for IXCs

Back 14

access tandem

Front 15

T carrier over

Back 15

cooper cable

Front 16

SONET carrier over

Back 16

fiber optic cables

Front 17

only part of the network that is not shared

Back 17

access

Front 18

only the _______ owns the copper cable that runs by most small businesses and residences, due to cost

Back 18

ILEC

Front 19

the average length of a copper loop is

Back 19

about a mile

Front 20

that part of the network that provides access to residences and small businesses, and is relatively costly to provide compared with the revenues derived from the service on that line

Back 20

last mile

Front 21

only the _____ has the capability to provide direct access to every premise

Back 21

ILEC

Front 22

two bodies are responsible for regulating some of the participants in the industry

Back 22

FCC and PUC

Front 23

any phone should be able to dial any other phone

Back 23

interconnectivity

Front 24

anyone who wants a phone should be able to get and afford a phone

Back 24

universal service

Front 25

a document which contains the terms and conditions under which service is provided by a common carrier

Back 25

tariff

Front 26

a company which serves anyone who requests service under a common set of terms and conditions. Trucking companies and telephone companies are common carriers

Back 26

common carrier

Front 27

________ and ______ are not regulated

Back 27

enhanced services and CPE

Front 28

in telephony, service in which information is either stored or transformed

Back 28

enhanced service

Front 29

established to subsidize basic telephone service for disadvantaged groups

Back 29

(USF) universal service fund

Front 30

Bell applied and received a patent for the telephone in

Back 30

1876

Front 31

Bells patent expired in

Back 31

1893

Front 32

kingsbury commitment occured in

Back 32

1913

Front 33

RBOCs

Back 33

seven holding companies called the Regional Bell Operating Companies

Front 34

LATA

Back 34

local access transport area

Front 35

calls beyond the LATA had to be carried by the

Back 35

IXCs

Front 36

a term used by the government agencies and other organizations that divides the United States into 306 areas according to population density. Cellular contracts are awarded by it.

Back 36

(MSA) Metropolitan Statistical Area

Front 37

also had control over access in the geographical area where it had the local telephone service monopoly

Back 37

GTE

Front 38

intended to begin competition for local telephone service

Back 38

Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996

Front 39

priced according to agreements between the parties and ratified by the regulators

Back 39

unbundled loop

Front 40

decided between the ILECs and the regulators and made available then to competitors

Back 40

unbundled network elements

Front 41

that the loop is provided without any other telephony services, such as switching, dial tone and so forth

Back 41

unbundled loop

Front 42

performance is guaranteed only for voice grade traffic

Back 42

voice grade unbundled loop

Front 43

the technical evolution of the telecommunications network occurred in _____ stages

Back 43

3

Front 44

reduced the cost of telephony and met the goal of universal service, was essentially a computer driven switch

Back 44

stored program control switch

Front 45

before the stored program control switch, the switches where control by

Back 45

electromechanical relays

Front 46

cellular phone system deployment was the year

Back 46

1984

Front 47

first web browser was introduced in

Back 47

1993

Front 48

PCS cell system deployment in the year

Back 48

1996

Front 49

key public policy goals include

Back 49

universal service and interconnectivity

Front 50

approximately __________ U.S. residents are telecommunications subscribers. The resulting revenue is _______

Back 50

300 million ; $300 billion