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A recurring fixed charge for IEC or LEC service at
the lowest level. A local loop may have multiple rate elements associated
with it, which make up the fixed portion of the monthly bill. For
example: Local Access, Local Mileage, Entrance facilities, Channel
Termination, Interexchange, etc.
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Rates and Tariffs
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Standards published by AT&T, OCCs,LECs, and IECs
that define service availability, cost and provisioning procedures.
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RBOC
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Regional Bell Operating Company
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Rebiller
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See Reseller
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Regional Bell Operating Companies - RBOC
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One of the seven "Baby Bell" Companies
created by the 1982 Modified Final Judgement that specified the terms
of the AT&T Divestiture. The seven RHCs include: NYNEX, Bell Atlantic,
Bell South, Southwestern Bell, U.S. West, Pacific Telesis, and Ameritech.
"RBOC" is sometimes used informally to refer to the Regional
Holding Companies defined in the 1982 MFJ. (See Bell Operating Companies
- There are 19 BOCs).
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Regulators
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FCC, PUC, Federal Courts (e.g. MFJ), etc.
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Reseller - Also known as Rebiller
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A long-distance carrier (IEC) that does not own a
network, but leases bulk capacity and resells portions of it at a
higher rate.
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Residential Customer
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An individual (non-business) telephone system subscriber.
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Responsible Organization - R/O
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With 800 Portability, the Number Administration Service
Center (NASC) allows the RespOrg to make changes such as carrier,
termination, 800 call routing (by time of day, location.) A Letter
Of Agency (LOA) must be on file to change the RespOrg for each customer/account.
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Slam
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An end user that is PICed without their permission.
An RBOC Slam Fee must be paid for each slam.
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SMS
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Service Management System
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SMS Customer Record
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All information related to one 800 number, effective
date and time, etc.
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Speed Dialing
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A service to abbreviate and accelerate frequently
dialed numbers.
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State Tax
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A collection of tax types that each state is allowed
to charge. Tax jurisdiction (which state can charge tax for a call)
is based on the two-out-of-three rule: where it originates, where
it terminates, where it is being billed to - if two match, that state
can charge the tax.
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Surcharge
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An additional charge on top of a base rate for a
specified reason.
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Switch
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A device (like a DMS-250 or a PBX) that responds
to originator signals and dynamically connects the caller to the desired
communication destination.
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Switched Access
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Nondedicated local access between the customer's
premise and the serving wire center which is interconnected to the
company's point-of-presence for origination or termination of service.
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Switched Access Service
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A class of LEC services that provides the link from
the customer's premise to the IEC PoP for switched circuits.
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Switched Resellers
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Resellers that utilize their own switching hardware
(and sometimes their own lines) and the lines of other IXCs to provide
long-distance service to its subscribers. They provide their own billing
and service.
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Switched Services
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All dial up long-distance services including conventional
residential and WATS (most have incremental use charges). (See Message
Toll Service)
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Switching Fee
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A per-line fee (usually around $5) imposed by the
LEC to reprogram their switching system to change your default carrier.
Subscribers must usually pay this fee when switching to a reseller.
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Switchless Reseller
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A reseller of long-distance services that does not
utilize any of its own lines, or (switching) equipment. All actual
service and equipment is handled by the IXC. Billing is usually done,
by the reseller themselves, to the customer.
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T1/DS-1
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(Facility) The equivalent of 24 multiplexed voice
grade channels. 1.544 million bits per second (1.5Mbps)
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T2/DS-2
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(Facility) The equivalent of 4 multiplexed T1 channels.
6.312 million bits per second (6.3Mbps)
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T3/DS-3
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(Facility) The equivalent of 28 multiplexed T1 channels.
44.736 million bits per second (45Mbps)
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T4/DS-4
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(Facility) The equivalent of 6 multiplexed T3 channels.
274.176 million bits per second (274Mbps)
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Tariff
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A public document filed with the FCC or a PUC that
outlines services and rates. Usually, all customers are offered the
same rate for a specific service, based on published constraints.
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TDD
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Telecommunications Device for the Deaf
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Telco - Telephone Company
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The local or regional telephone company that owns
and operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central Office
Switches. Telcos have connections to other COs, Tandem (Class 4 Toll)
offices and may connect directly to IECs like WorldCom, AT&T,
MCI, Sprint, LDDS, etc.
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Third Party Billing
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Use of an outside service bureau for bill processing
such as: call rating, customer invoicing, collections, etc.
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Time of Day Routing
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Route calls based on the time the call originates.
(e.g. direct morning calls to East Coast operators and afternoon calls
to West Coast operators, etc.). SMS/800 supports 15 minute time intervals.
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Toll
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A rated call (Contrast CDR - unrated call detail
record). Tolls appear on the Invoice Detail.
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Toll Call
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A call with incremental use (minute-by-minute) charges.
(Often through a Class 4 Toll Office).
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Toll Fraud
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A crime in which a "hacker" obtains telecommunication
services by: breaching computer security, using or selling stolen
long-distance credit-card codes, or, accessing a PBX and using its
communication facilities illegally. Toll Fraud is estimated to cost
U.S. companies $1.2 billion/year.
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Two Out Of Three Rule
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When determining state tax jurisdiction, there are
three locations to consider: originating station, destination station,
and the location that the bill is sent to. If two out of three are
the same, then that state receives the tax.
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Vanity Number
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A specific 800 or 888 number (may spell something).
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Verified Account Codes
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See Account Codes. A finite list of carrier-verified,
predefined Account Codes.
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Voice Mail
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An automatic answering service with the ability to
record a message. Unlike simple answering machines, Voice mail uses
a programmable computer system with options such as temporary call
routing, monitoring and reporting, etc.
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Voice Mail Box
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The assignment of one user/number on a voice mail
system.
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WATS - Wide Area Telephone Service
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Flat rate, or special rate pay-by-the-minute (measured)
billing for a specified calling area. May be outbound or inbound (e.g.
800).
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Wireless
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Radio waves, cellular, satellite, microwave, etc.
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WNP
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Wireless Number Portability
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Working Telephone Number
CompStar Technologies is a leading Indiana-based provider of networking, technology, and communications services. With offices in Mishawaka (serving South Bend, Elkhart, Warsaw, Michigan City, Fort Wayne, Niles, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor, Michigan) and Indianapolis, CompStar provides network design / support, network security, wireless networking, business telephone systems, VoIP (voice over IP), and cctv / video surveillance systems. CompStar is the Technology Division of Direct Line Communications, headquartered in Mishawaka, Indiana.
