TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: True Long Distance Carriers?

True Long Distance Carriers?

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
13 Aug 2005 18:35:51 -0700

Would anyone know who the 'true' long distance carriers are in the
U.S.?

That is, what carriers actually own their own physical network that can
carry calls to various parts of the entire United Sates (as opposed to
renting space from someone else)?

Also, today the Baby Bells each hold a large geograhic area and offer
long distance. Do they carry calls within their own areas? (They've
always had the capability to do that).

Do whatever large once-'independent' telephone companies (ie United
Telecom?) have any long distance networks? (GTE was the largest
independent, but that was merged into Verizon.)

Thanks.

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In the 1960-70's, AT&T was mostly it,
and the _largest customers_ of AT&T were MCI and Sprint. As MCI began
putting together some facilities of their own, then AT&T and Sprint
started buying from them, etc. They have always been each other's
largest customers, even until more recent years as they developed
their own networks. United Tel used to buy capacity almost exclusively
from AT&T but now they buy it as much as possible from their parent
company Sprint. The term 'independent' means nothing any longer (in the
context of telephony) as you know, and I _think_ that all carriers try
to handle their own calls within their 'territories' but even the
terms 'intralata' and 'interlata' these days are very complex and
vague. PAT]

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