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Tele-Communication (Telecom) Terms Glossary and Dictionary
CLEC: Competitive Local Exchange Carrier
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) is a company which provides local telephone service - other than the incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). Much like a LEC, a CLEC provides telephone service within a LATA. To handle InterLATA long distance calls, the CLEC will connect to an IXC. Most CLEC's will use the local loop (UNE-L) belonging to the incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. The telecommunication act of 1996 forced the incumbent LEC's to lease access to their local loop (UNE-L) to CLEC's at wholesale prices. Between 1996 and 2004, the FCC also required LEX's to lease other network elements (UNE-P) to the CLEX's.
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