"0” Call
A call made by the caller dialing the digit “0” and no other digits within five seconds. A “0-” call may be made after a digit (digits) to access the local network is (are) dialed.

“0+” Call
A call made by the caller dialing the digit “0” followed by the terminating telephone number. On some automated call equipment, digit(s) may be dialed between the “0” and the terminating telephone number.

211 Service
The local telephone number used to access community information and referral services.

311 Service
The local telephone number used to access non-emergency medical, police and other governmental services.

411 Service
The local telephone number dialed for local directory assistance in most North American cities.

711 Service
The local telephone number that is dialed to reach the Texas Relay Service in a given locality. Relay Texas is a program in which trained operators interpret telephone calls between people who can hear and those who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing or speech-disabled.

911 Service
The local telephone number that is dialed to reach the local centralized emergency reporting and response agency. This number is used to call for all emergency services such as a request for medical help, to report a fire or to call police. This service should only be used for emergencies.

Access
Electronic connection to a telecommunications network. The ability of a user to enter the network.

Access Charges
Charges a long distance provider pays to a local telecommunications company to complete long distance calls.

Access Code
Certain numbers that connect the caller to the provider of operator and other telecommunication services.

Access Customer
Any user of access services which are obtained from a certificated telecommunications utility

Access Line
A telephone line reaching from the telephone company central office to a point usually on your premises. Beyond this point, the wire is considered inside wiring.

Access Services
Certificated telecommunications utility services which provide connections for or are related to the origination or termination of intrastate telecommunications services that are generally, but not limited to, interexchange services.

Administrative Review
A process under which an application may be approved without a formal hearing.

Affiliate
A person who directly or indirectly owns or holds at least 5 percent of the voting securities of a public utility.

Aggregate Customer Proprietary Network Information
A configuration of customer proprietary network information that has been collected by a telecommunications utility and organized such that none of the information will identify an individual customer.

Aggregator
An aggregator is essentially a sales agent for a long distance company. Any person or business that, in the normal course of business, provides a public telephone for the use of patrons through an Operator Service Provider (OSP).

Audio Text
The term used to describe a system that provides automated interactive telephone in-formation, such as stock prices, sports scores and personal

Automatic Dial Announcing Device (ADAD)
A computer that automatically dials customers and then electronically generates voice messages or plays taped messages that solicit customers to purchase products or services or requests participation in a survey.

Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
The automatic transmission by the local switching system of the originating telephone number to an interexchange or other communications carrier or to the operator of a 911 system.

Bandwidth
1. In telecommunications, bandwidth is the width of a communications channel. In analog communications, bandwidths typically measured in Hertz – cycles per second.
2. The capacity of a telecom line to carry signals. The necessary bandwidth is the amount of spectrum required to transmit the signal without distortion or loss of information. FCC rules require suppression of the signal outside the band to prevent interference.

Base Rate
The non-discounted “per minute” charge for Measured Service.

Base Rate Area
A specific area within an exchange area, as set forth in the dominant certificated telecommunications utilities’ tariffs, maps or descriptions, wherein local exchange service is furnished at uniform rates without extra mileage charges.

Basic Local Telecommunications Service
A flat rate residential and business local exchange telephone service, including primary directory listings; tone dialing services; access to operator services; access to directory assistance services; access to 911 service where provided by a local authority or dual party relay service; the ability to report service problems seven days a week; Lifeline and tel-assistance services; and any other service the commission, after hearing, determines should be included in basic local telecommunications service.

Baud
Unit of signaling speed reflecting the number of discrete conditions or signal elements transmitted per second.

Bill and Keep
A payment system under which each local exchange carrier bills for the services that it provides and keeps the revenues instead of pooling those revenues with other local exchange carriers.

Billing Account Number (BAN)
Used by telephone companies to designate a customer or customer location that will be billed. A single customer can have multiple billing accounts.

Billing Agent
Any entity that submits charges to a billing telecommunications utility on behalf of itself or any service provider.

Billing and Collection
A service local exchange carriers provide to interexchange carriers by which the local exchange carriers bill subscribers for long distance services on behalf of the interexchange carriers.

Billing Telephone Number (BTN)
The phone number associated, for billing purposes, with the working phone number.

Bit Error Ratio (BER)
The ratio of the number of bits received in error to the total number of bits transmitted in a given time interval.

Bit Rate
The rate at which data bits are transmitted over a communications path, normally expressed in bits per second.

Blocking
A process that prevents certain types of calls to or from customer premise equipment, keeping users from accessing alternate networks or completing any non-billable calls.

Broadband
A term for digital technologies with bandwidth greater than 45 Mbps (million bits per second) that provide consumers access to voice, high-speed data services, video-on-demand services and interactive delivery services. The PUC does not regulate broadband.

Bundle
1. A bundle combines local and long-distance calling into one plan. In some cases, Internet and wireless phone service can be added.
2. A group of fiber or wires within a cable sharing a common color-code.

Business Service
A telecommunications service provided to a customer where the use is primarily of business, professional, institutional or otherwise occupational nature.

Bypass
A term coming from the idea of using a method to bypass the local exchange network of the Local Exchange Carrier.

Call
A completed switched communication (at a specified bandwidth) between two stations on a network.

Call Aggregator
The period of time that begins with Answer Supervision (destination off hook) and ends when the call is terminated.

Call Splashing
Call transferring (whether caller-requested or operator service provider-initiated) that results in a call being rated and/or billed from a point different from that where the call originated.

Call Transferring
Handing off a call from one operator service provider (OSP) to another OSP.

Caller Identification Service (Caller ID Service)
An optional service offered by telecommunications providers that sends information such as the name and/or the number of the calling party to a device that either displays or announces the information to the called party.

Calling Area
The area within which telecommunications service is furnished to customers under a specific schedule of exchange rates. A “local” calling area may include more than one exchange area.

Calling Card
A telecommunication credit card with an authorization code for using long distance carrier when the customer is away from his/her home or office.

Carrier
A company which provides communications circuits.

Carrier Common line charge
One type of usage-based access charge interexchange carriers pay local exchange carriers. The carrier common line charge covers a portion of local exchange carriers fixed or non-traffic-sensitive cost of providing access. The National Exchange Carrier Association files a carrier common line tariff on behalf of the local exchange carriers participation in its common pool.

Carrier of Choice
An option that allows an individual to choose an interexchange carrier for long distance calls made through Texas Relay Services.

Carrier-initiated Change
A change in the telecommunications utility serving a customer that was initiated by the telecommunications utility to which the customer is changed, whether the switch is made because a customer did or did not respond to direct mail solicitation, telemarketing or other actions initiated by the carrier.

Central Office
The location of equipment necessary to operate a telecommunications system to provide service to the general public. The facility of a telecommunications common carrier where calls are switched.

Central Office Equipment (COE)
Switching and related equipment on a local telephone company’s property.

Certificated Service Area
The geographic area within which a company has been authorized to provide basic local telecommunications services pursuant to a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN), a certificate of operating authority or a service provider certificate of operating authority issued by the commission.

Certificated Telecommunications Utility
A telecommunications utility that has been granted either a certificate of convenience and necessity (CNN), a certificate of operating authority or a service provider certificate of operating authority.

Circuit
The physical connection of channels, conductors and equipment between two given points through which and electric current may be established. Includes both sending and receiving capabilities. A circuit can also be a network of circuit elements, such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, semiconductors, etc., that performs a specific function.

Commercial Service
A local exchange telecommunications service for all non- residential service customers such as business, professional, institutional or government customers.

Commission
Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), the state regulatory agency that provides oversight, policy guidance and direction to electric and telecommunications utilities.

Common Carrier
A company that furnishes communications services to the general public. It is typically licensed by a state or federal government agency.

Common Line
The pool that the National Exchange Carrier Association administers for its local exchange carrier members’ non-traffic-sensitive cost of providing interstate access.

Communications Assistant
A person who facilitates telephone conversation between text telephone users, users of sign language or individuals with speech disabilities to communicate with anyone else via telephone at no additional cost.

Competitive Access Provider
A company that provides an alternative means of establishing a connection between a user organization and an Interexchange Carrier, completely bypassing the Local Exchange Carrier.

Competitive Local Exchange Telecommunications Company
Any company certificated by the Commission to provide local exchange telecommunications in the state.

Cooperative
An incumbent local exchange company that is a cooperative corporation.

Cooperative Corporation
A telephone cooperative corporation organized and operating under the Telephone Cooperative Corporation Act.

Cost Study
An annual study by those local exchange carriers participating in the National Exchange Carrier Association pools to determine their cost by providing telephone service. The National Exchange Carrier Association uses the results of the cost studies to set each local exchange carrier’s level of interstate settlements.

Cramming
A practice in which customers are billed for unexpected telephone charges, which they typically did not order, authorize or use. Cramming refers to the fact that the charges are crammed onto the telephone bill in an inconspicuous place so that they will go unnoticed.

Custom Calling Features
Special features available in a local exchange carrier’s central office switch, which can be offered to subscribers without subscribers needing any special equipment. Custom calling features include call waiting, three-way calling, call forwarding and other miscellaneous features.

Custom Local Area Signaling Service
Advanced custom calling features made possible through the capabilities of newer network signaling technologies. Among the possible custom calling area signaling service features are automatic callback, distinctive ringing, selective call forwarding and calling number deliver (Caller ID).

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)
Telecommunications terminal equipment, including inside wire, located at a customer’s building and owned by the customer. This does not include over voltage protection equipment, inside wiring, coin-operated telephones, “company-official” equipment, mobile telephone equipment or 911 equipment.

Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)
Any information compiled about a customer by a telecommunications utility in the normal course of providing telephone service that identifies the customer by matching such information with the customer’s name, address or billing telephone number. This information includes, but is not limited to: line type(s), technical characteristics, class of service, current telephone charges, long distance billing record, local service billing record, directory assistance charges, usage data and calling patterns.

De-averaging
Abandonment of the current telephone industry practice of charging for toll calls based on distance – not on relative cost of carrying a call to specific destination. The cost of carrying a call to some areas are much higher because there is less telephone traffic going to that area. But under the current practice of geographic rate averaging, the cost of carrying calls to high cost, low volume areas are averaged with the cost of carrying calls to high volume areas, thus carriers charge uniform rates for carrying calls to all locations.

Deregulation
The removal of regulatory authority to control certain activities of entrenched telephone companies. An attempt by federal authorities to make the telephone industry more competitive.

Dial Around Service
A method used by callers to purposely bypass a payphone company’s local or long distance carrier services. Such methods include calling cards and alternative carrier’s collect services, such as 1-800-COLLECT or 1-800-CALL-ATT. Access codes or numbers such as 10-10XXX, also allow customers to bypass the telephone or long distance company that serves that telephone line.

Digital Subscriber Line
Digital lines that telecommunication utilities provide to their local customers for both voice and data (e.g., computer and fax machines) over the same telephone line.

Dispute
A complaint that the utility and the customer have not been able to resolve between themselves, often including, but not limited to, a utility’s action, including credit issues, deposit requirements, the accuracy of amounts billed or the proper party to be charged.

Element
The various components of the access charges that local exchange carriers charge to interexchange carriers. Among the primary access elements are charges for switching calls, transporting calls and directory assistance.

End User Choice
A system that allows the automatic routing of interexchange, operator-assisted call to the billed party’s chosen carrier without use of access codes.

Enhanced Service Provider (ESP)
A company that offers value-added services to end users. An Enhanced Service Provider typically adds value to telephone lines using their own software and hardware. An example of Enhanced Service Provider is a public voice mail box provider or database provider.

Enhanced Services
Also called information services. These differ from basic transmission services because they usually involve computer processing which, in some way, acts on the information transmitted. Some examples of enhanced services are: voice mail, answering machine-like services, alarm monitoring, email and databases. A local telephone service provider may bill for information services on behalf of third party enhanced service providers.

Equal Access
All long distance carriers must be accessible by dialing 1 – and not a string of long dialing codes. This service allows customers to complete toll calls through a long-distance company without using an identification code if the chosen long distance company has elected full equal access status. It has the availability of "1-plus" dialing.

Extended Area Service (EAS)
A geographic area beyond the local service area to which traffic is classified as local for selected customers, i.e., telephone service that allows subscribers in one exchange to call subscribers of another exchange without a toll charge.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
An independent U.S. government agency, responsible directly to Congress, established by the Communications Act of 1934 and charged with regulation of interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. Interstate services are under the jurisdiction of the state Public Utility Commissions.

Federal Line Cost Charge
See Federal Subscriber Line Charge.

Federal Subscriber Line Charge
A charge authorized by the FCC and billed by your local telephone company that helps pay part of the cost of providing a phone line into your home or business. This is not a tax. It is a charge that is part of the price you pay to your local telephone company for local service. Also referred to as the Subscriber Line Charge, the Customer Access Line Charge or the End User Common Line Charge.

Federal Tax
Also referred to as the Federal Excise Tax on Telephone Service. This tax appears on your local and long distance phone bills. It is charged as a set percentage regardless of which telephone company you use.

Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge
The amount that a telecommunications company is required to contribute to the Federal Universal Service Fund. The surcharge is collected from all customers to generate a Federal Universal Service Fund. This fund helps maintain affordable local telephone service for all Americans and provides discounted service to schools, public libraries and low-income customers.

Federal-State Joint Board
An organization with representatives from the FCC and the state public service commissions which tries to resolve federal and state conflicts on telecommunications regulatory issues; sometimes successfully and sometimes not successfully.

Fiber-Optics
A means for transmitting digital information (voice, video, data) over high purity, hair-thin fibers of glass in the form of digital signals. Bandwidth capacity of fiber optic cable is much greater than that of conventional cable or copper wire.

Frequency
The rate at which an electromagnetic waveform alternates usually measured in Hertz. Hertz is a unit of measure which means “cycle per second.”

Frequency Modulation
A modulation technique in which the carrier frequency is shifted by an amount proportional to the value of the modulating signal. The amplitude of the carrier signals remains constant. The deviation of the carrier frequency determines the signal content of the message.

Fully Distributed Costing
A method of telephone service pricing in which all cost are distributed among all services provided (FCC Part 36 procedures).

Holding Company
A parent company that owns one or more local exchange carriers.

Hub
A point on a network where circuits are connected

Incumbent Local Exchange Company (ILEC)
The traditional monopoly provider of local telephone service.

Infrastructure Sharing
The sharing of telecommunications equipment, technology and information among local exchange carriers, particularly between large and small local exchange carriers. The concept of infrastructure sharing is based on the fact that local exchange carriers traditionally have worked together to jointly provide services where necessary. As a new service evolves, requiring greater computer processing power and information storage capabilities, it may not be economically feasible for every local exchange provider to install the necessary equipment. So that all subscribers, both urban and rural, can benefit from new advanced services, infrastructure sharing allows small local exchange carriers to use fiber optic links and other modern transmission capabilities to connect to the equipment larger local exchange carriers install in more populated areas.

IntaLATA Calling
Phone communication within a LATA. Phone calls within a LATA, but beyond a party’s local calling area, are defined as local or regional toll calls.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
A telecommunications system which uses technologies to change voice, data and video transmissions into digital signals for high-speed transmission over existing or new telephone networks.

Interactive Video Data Service (IVDS)
A communication system, operating over a short distance, which allows nearly instantaneous two-way responses by using a hand-held device at a fixed location. Viewer participation in game shows, distance learning and e-mail on computer networks are examples.

Interexchange Carrier
A company that provides long-distance service.

Interexchange Carrier (IXC)
A company which carries over its own or leased lines long distance telecommunication messages between local exchanges or toll, rather than within local exchanges.

InterLATA Calling
Communication between Local Access Transport Areas. Phone calls between LATAs are long distance calls.

Intrastate
Services, traffic or facilities that originate and terminate within the same state. Therefore, if related to telephone, falling under the jurisdiction of that state’s telephone regulatory procedures.

Land Mobile Service
A public or private radio service providing two-way communication, paging and radio signaling on land.

Landline
A telephone circuit that travels over terrestrial circuits, be they wire fiber or microwave. A call may originate from a source not connected to the terrestrial network, as from a car telephone of ship to shore radio, and the call be completed via a Landline.

Lifeline Service
Service available to low income and elderly customers who qualify for help with assistance programs for connection, access and usage. This program, certified by the FCC, also provides for the reduction or waiver of the federal subscriber line charge for these subscribers.

Link Up America
A universal service program that helps make telephone service more affordable for low-income customers who apply for new telephone service or who transfer telephone services.

Local Access and Transport Area (LATA)
A geographic area established for distinguishing between local calls and long distance toll calls. It usually covers one or more communities of interest. Some toll rates may apply within a LATA.

Local basic service charge
The charge for providing a local service line that allows a customer to send or receive telecommunications within the local calling area.

Local Calling Area (LCA)
The area consisting of one or more telephone exchanges in which customers can call without paying toll rates.

Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)
A telecommunications utility that has been granted either a certificate of convenience and necessity or a certificate of operating authority to provide local exchange telephone service, basic local telecommunications service or switched access service within the state. A local exchange company is also referred to as a local exchange carrier.

Local Loop/Loop
The communications channel between a subscriber and the local exchange carrier central office from which the subscriber’s service is provided. Loop costs are the local exchange carrier’s costs of installing and maintaining the local loop plant.

Local Number Portability Surcharge (LNP)
This fee allows local telephone companies to recover costs associated with supporting the technical capability to allow a consumer or business to keep an existing telephone number when switching to another local company. Local telephone providers are allowed, but not required, to pass on these costs. They are only allowed to charge this fee for five years from the first date they start to charge the fee. This is not a tax. This fee started to appear on many local telephone bills in February 1999.

Local Service
Telecommunications service within a customer’s local calling area. Local service includes the customer’s local calling plan, dial tone-line, touch-tone, Federal line cost charge, Relay Texas Surcharge, Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge, local number portability surcharge, 9-1-1 emergency fee and applicable federal and state taxes. Local service also includes a local directory assistance allowance of two calls a month per residential customer account.

Local Service Area
The geographic area that telephones may call without incurring toll charges. A flat rate calling area. Increasingly rare.

Local Service Provider
A company, such as a local exchange carrier, that provides local service by resale, unbundled network elements or through its own facilities to a customer. A local service provider may also provide other telecommunications services.

Local Toll Service (regional toll)
Service that includes calling plans for telephone calls that you make outside of your local calling area. Check your telephone directory’s “Regional Calling Pages” for this information.

Long Distance Telecommunications Service
That part of the total communication service rendered by a telecommunication utility which is furnished between customers in different local calling areas in accordance with the rates and regulation specified in the utility’s tariff.

Minute of Use (MOU)
The measurement, in minutes, of the time a local exchange carrier’s network or equipment is in use. For instance, interexchange carriers pay access charges based on the number of minutes they use the local exchange carrier’s network; and equipment cost are divided between the inter- and intrastate jurisdictions based on the number of minutes the equipment is used for particular functions.

Municipal Utility
A utility owned by the city; the Board of Public Utilities does not have jurisdiction to regulate matters dealing with municipal utilities.

National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA)
An organization created by the Federal Communications Commission in 1984 to file interstate access tariffs on behalf of local exchange carriers and to manage the various access revenue pools.

Network Interface Device (NID)
The point of interconnection between Telephone Company communications facilities and terminal equipment, protective apparatus or wiring at a subscriber’s premises.

Number Portability
The capability of individuals, businesses and organizations to keep existing telephone number(s) without any increase in the number of digits dialed to reach that number or any decrease in service quality when switching to a new local service provider (LSP).

Operator Service Charge
A fee, in addition to the message toll charge or local call charge, for use of a calling card, a credit card or for automated or live operator service in completing a call.

Operator Services Provider (OSP)
Any person or entity that offers services using live or automated operator functions. Entities providing customer-owned pay telephone service are not OSPs.

Optional Service
A service that customers can choose that is not required for basic local service. These services can be billed either by a flat monthly rate or per use basis. Basic local service cannot be suspended if the customer does not pay the charges for optional service(s).

Out-of-Service Trouble Report
An initial customer trouble report in which there is complete interruption of incoming or outgoing local exchange service. On multiple line services a failure of one central office line or a failure in common equipment affecting all lines is considered out of service. If an extension line failure does not result in the complete inability to receive or initiate calls, the report is not considered to be out of service.

Payment Agreement
An agreement between the customer and the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) allowing a customer to pay the unpaid balance in two or more payments over a reasonable period.

Payphone Service Provider (PSP)
A corporation, association, partnership or person that provides coin telephone service. The PUC does not regulate coin service providers.

Per-call Blocking
The ability of the person making a phone call to have his/her telephone number, name or audio transmission of phone number or name from being displayed on the called party’s telephone on a per-call basis (e.g. *67).

Per-line Blocking
An optional service provided by a telecommunications company that gives customers the ability to block a call from reaching them.

Personal Communications Service (PCS)
Any of several types of wireless, voice and/or data communications services, typically using digital technology. Personal Computer Service licenses are generally used to provide services similar to advanced cellular mobile or paging services. Personal Communications Service can also be used to provide other wireless communications services, including services that allow people to place and receive communications while away from their home or office, as well as wireless communications to homes, office buildings and other fixed locations. The PUC does not regulate Personal Communications Service.

Plant
A general term for all equipment used by a telephone company to provides telecommunications services. Usually divided into inside and outside plant, or equipment.

Pool/Pooling
A payment system under which revenues collected by local exchange carriers are not kept, but instead are combined and redistributed based on factors such as local exchange carriers’ cost of providing service. There are various state pools, as well as the interstate pools administered by the National Exchange Carrier Association. At the end of the monthly pooling process, each participation local exchange carrier either owes monies to the pool or is due monies from the pool. The National Exchange Carrier Association pool, but after April 1989 carriers were given the option to withdraw from the pool and file their own common carrier line and/or traffic sensitive tariffs.

Prepaid Local Telephone Service (PLTS)
Voice grade dial tone residential service consisting of flat rate service or local measured service, if chosen by the customer and offered by the dominate certificated telecommunication utility.

Presubscribed
Those lines for which equal access is available and subscribers have selected the interexchange carrier to which they want the local exchange carrier to route their 1+ long distance calls.

Price Caps
A form of federal regulation of local exchange carrier earnings that basically set a ceiling or cap on the prices local exchange carriers can charge for their interstate services and provides incentives for local exchange carriers to be more efficient. Although price cap regulation is mandatory for large local exchange carriers, it is optional for small local exchange carriers. Realizing that most small local exchange carriers would not find price caps beneficial, the FCC in 1993 adopted two additional alternatives for small local exchange carriers – rate of return average schedule – to move toward a form of incentive regulation.

Primary Interexchange Carrier (PIC)
The long distance toll provider that is chosen by a customer to complete toll calls.

Private Line
A transmission path that is dedicated to a customer and that is not connected to a switching facility of a telecommunications utility, except that a dedicated transmission path between switching facilities of interexchange carriers shall be considered a private line.

Public Utility
Privately owned business entity, subject to government regulation that provides to the public an essential commodity or service, such as water, electricity, transportation and telecommunication services.

Rate of Return
A form of federal regulation of local exchange carrier earnings that establishes the percentage of net profit that a local exchange carrier is allowed to earn on its rate base (its total invested capital). Currently, local exchange carriers are permitted to earn an 11.25 percent interstate return rate.

Rates
Standards published by telecommunications companies that define service availability, cost and provisioning procedures.

Redirect the Call
A procedure used by operator service providers that transmits a signal back to the originating telephone instrument that caused the instrument to disconnect the operator service provider’s connection and to redial the digits originally dialed by the caller directly to the local exchange carrier’s network.

Regulation
A rule or law established by the federal or state government which establishes the procedures that a utility must follow.

Relay Surcharge
A surcharge authorized by the PUC and billed on the local telephone bill that is used to provide telecommunications relay services to hearing and speech-impaired users in Texas.

Reseller
A regulated company that provides telecommunications services by buying the services on a wholesale basis from another regulated company and reselling the services to the public.

Restoration Charge
A charge applied to restore service to a customer's telephone line after it has been suspended.

Revenue requirement
The amount a regulated local exchange carrier is allowed to earn on its rate base. The revenue requirement is the sum of the rate base times rate of return plus operating expenses and taxes.

Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
An agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that makes financing available to rural telephone and electric organizations so they can provide service in rural areas. The Rural Utilities Service makes low-interest-rate loans, and guarantees loans mad by others. The Rural Utilities Service also administers a rural development loan program and a program for distance learning and telemedicine grants.

Service Area
The geographical area supported by a communication service.

Service Plan
The rate plan you select when choosing a wireless phone service. A service plan typically consists of a monthly base rate for access to the system and a fixed amount of minutes per month.

Service Provider
Any entity that offers a product or service to a customer and that directly or indirectly charges to or collects from a customer’s bill an amount for the product or service received from a billing telecommunications utility.

Settlements
The compensation a local exchange carrier receives from a pool or other revenue sharing agreement.

Shared Tenant Service-
Any certificated telecommunications company that provides service which duplicates or competes with local service provided by an existing local exchange telecommunications company and is furnished through a common switching or billing arrangement to tenants by an entity other than an existing local exchange telecommunications company.

Slamming
The unauthorized changing of a customer’s telecommunications company.

Specialized Telecommunications Assistance Program (STAP)
Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas and the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TCDHH) operate a program to provide financial assistance that will allow certain individuals to receive specialized telecommunications devices. Persons who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing and/or speech-disabled who need special telecommunications devices in order to access the telephone network are qualified. The law was created to allow access into telephone network that is functionally equivalent to that enjoyed by individuals without a disability of hearing or speech. The Texas Universal Service Fund (TUSF) subsidizes the program.

Specialized Telecommunications Assistance Program Voucher
A voucher issued by the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing under the equipment distribution program, in accordance with its rules, that an eligible individual may use to acquire eligible specialized telecommunications device from a vendor of such equipment.

Subscriber Line Charge (SLC formerly CALC)
FCC term to describe current access charges that appear on a customer’s bill. A monthly fee paid by telephone subscriber that is used to compensate the local telephone company for part of the cost of installation and maintenance of the telephone wire, poles and other facilities that link your home to the telephone network.

Subscriber Line Usage (SLU)
The total time subscriber plant is in use. A compilation of all subscriber plant minutes of use for all jurisdictions; the subscriber line usage factor is used in calculation non-traffic-sensitive cost and for allocating these cost between the inter- and intrastate jurisdictions.

Subset
The designation the National Exchange Carrier Association uses to categorize its members according to size. Subset 1 includes Bell operating companies, subset 2 includes the large independent local exchange carriers with $40 million or more in annual telephone revenues and subset 3 includes all other local exchange with less than $40 million in annual telephone revenues.

Suspension of service
Temporary period where the customer's telephone line does not have a dial tone due to deliberate action of the telephone company.

Switch
A device that routes a call by selecting the paths or circuits to be used for transmission of information and establishing a connection.

Switching
Process of routing communications traffic from a sender to the correct receiver.

Switchless Rebiller
Company has no switch or transmission facilities but may have a billing computer. Aggregates obtain bulk discounts from underlying carrier. Rebills end users at a rate above its discount but generally below the rate end users would pay for unaggregated traffic.

Tariff
The documents filed by a company describing its services, rates, terms and conditions under which the services are offered.

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
A service that enables people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or people who have language or speech disorders, to communicate by using a text telephone (TTY). The telecommunications relay service works by connecting calls between people using a TTY and those using a regular telephone by relaying messages between the parties using a trained Communications Assistant.

Telecommunications Utility
A person or entity owning or operating equipment or facilities in Texas for transmitting communications over the public network for a fee.

Termination of service
Termination of service due to non-payment. This follows a suspension of service when the customer has been given proper and sufficient notice.

Text telephone (TTY)
A machine that employs graphic communication in the transmission of coded signals through a wire or radio communications system. It is sometimes called a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD).

Toll
Calls for which subscribers incur a charge because the location called is outside their local service calling area. Toll calls can be intrastate or interstate calls, but the interstate toll calls are often referred to as long distance calls.

Toll Blocking
A service provided by a telecommunications company that lets customers stop toll calls from being made from their phones.

Traffic-Sensitive
Cost that vary based on the amount of traffic; the pool that the National Exchange Carrier Association administers for its local exchange carrier members traffic-sensitive cost; one type of usage-based access charge that interexchange carriers pay local exchange carriers.

Unbundling
The term used to describe the access provided by local exchange carriers so that other service providers can buy or lease portions of its network elements, such as interconnections loops, to service subscribers.

Universal Service
Program to help provide access to telecommunications services at reasonable and affordable rates throughout the country. Companies are required by law to contribute to this fund. Companies are not prohibited from passing this charge on to customers.

Universal Service Fund (USF)
A federal program that pays support to those local exchange carriers whose cost of providing basic telephone service are higher than the national average so that they may charge their subscribers reasonable local service rates. The Universal Service Fund accomplishes this by allowing high cost local exchange carriers to recover additional revenue from the interstate jurisdiction, which reduces the amount of their costs allocated to intrastate jurisdiction, and thus keeps their local rates lower than they otherwise would be. The Universal Service Fund is funded by contribution from interexchange carriers who pay a flat monthly per-line fee based on their number of presubscribed lines. The National Exchange Carrier Association bills the interexchange carriers for the charges and distributes the funds to qualifying local exchange carriers on a monthly basis.

Universal Telecommunications Assistance Program (UTAP)
A program implemented by Verizon (formerly Bell) that offers financial assistance to help Lifeline customers and qualified Lifeline applicants restore their basic telephone service.