LEC (local exchange carrier)

LEC (local exchange carrier) is the term for a public telephone company in the U.S. that provides local service. Some of the largest LECs are the Bell operating companies (BOCs) which were grouped into holding companies known collectively as the regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) when the Bell System was broken up by a 1983 consent decree. In addition to the Bell companies, there are a number of independent LECs, such as GTE.

LEC companies are also sometimes referred to as "telcos." A "local exchange" is the local "central office" of an LEC. Lines from homes and businesses terminate at a local exchange. Local exchanges connect to other local exchanges within a local access and transport area (LATA) or to interexchange carriers (IXCs) such as long-distance carriers AT&T, MCI, and Sprint.

LEC(local exchange carrier)是美国公共电话公司的术语，这些公司提供本地服务。一些最大的LEC是Bell操作公司(Bell operating companies, BOCs)，这些公司被归类到holding companies，统称为区域Bell操作公司(RBOCs)，这些公司是通过1983年协议法令分开的，原来是Bell System。除了Bell公司之外，还有很多独立的LECs，诸如GTE。

LEC公司有时也被称为“telcos”。一个“local exchange”是一个LEC的本地中心局。家庭或者公司的线路都是在一个local exchange终止的。本地交换(local exchange)连接到在一个本地访问和传输区域(LATA)的本地交换，或者连接到长距离运营商如AT&T，MCI，和Sprint.

很多术语都不知道如何翻译。