FCC Report on Local Telephone Competition

FCC REPORT ON LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission released new data on local telephone service competition in the United States. Twice a year, all incumbent local exchange carriers (incumbent LECs) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) are required to report basic information about their local telephone service, and all facilities-based mobile telephony providers are required to provide information about their subscribers, pursuant to the FCC's local telephone competition and broadband data gathering program (FCC Form 477). The statistics in this report reflect data as of December 31, 2005. Some highlights: 1) End-user customers obtained local telephone service by utilizing approximately 143.8 million incumbent LEC switched access lines, 31.6 million CLEC switched access lines, and 203.7 million mobile telephony service subscriptions at the end of 2005. 2) Of the 31.6 million CLEC end-user switched access lines, 5.1 million lines were provided over coaxial cable connections. The 5.1 million lines represent about 50% of the 10.1 million end-user switched access lines that CLECs reported providing over their own local loop facilities. 3) Mobile telephony service providers reported 203.7 million subscribers at the end of 2005, which is 22.6 million, or 12%, more than a year earlier. 4) At least one CLEC was serving customers in 82% of the nation's Zip Codes at the end of 2005. For more information, contact James Eisner or Ellen Burton at (202) 418-0940, TTY (202) 418-0484.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-266592A1.doc

* FCC report: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-266595A1.pdf