Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)

Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) is a regulatory term in telecommunications for the local telephone company. In the United States, wireline telephone companies are divided into two large categories: long distance (interexchange carrier, or IXCs) and local (local exchange carrier, or LECs). This structure is a result of 1984 divestiture of then regulated monopoly carrier AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph). Local telephone companies at the time of the divestiture are also known as Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILEC). Local exchange carriers (LECs) are divided into incumbent (ILECs) and competitive (CLECs).