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and long-distance networks. Thus, when a call was placed by a customer outside the local calling area, the central office would switch the call to the respective long-distance network. As technology advanced, central offices offered more services and their technical abilities improved. Services such
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that were leased prior to the 1980s. Despite the fact that the leasing system was not intended to promote this situation, customers in some cases ended up paying ten times the worth of their phones over the course of decades-long leases. Local telephone companies also provided
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or tied to one at the local level, especially after de-regulation of 1996. After de-regulation, these regional Bell operating companies continued providing the same technical services despite being under a different type of corporate structure.
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were first offered via central office-based technology although later PBXs also provided them. The role of the local phone company includes serving a given community and interfacing with the large long-distance carriers. Prior to the advent of
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were commonplace. The local telephone company was responsible for providing equipment and services to their customers in most cases although over time, as technology changed, so did the nature of the technical services thus provided.
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Traditionally, local telephone service was provided by small companies based in given cities and towns as opposed to larger, national or international companies.
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Internet service and other services give local companies new roles in the telecommunications industry.
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and especially cell phones have reduced the need for local telephone services while
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and local companies were thereby involved in some capacity in this communication.
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and in rural areas, up until around the early 1980s (perhaps later in some cases)
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outside of the local area provided for by these companies were patched through
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networks that were, until de-regulation, operation mainly by
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deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a
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339:Basic exchange telecommunications radio service
215:, but not all local telephone companies were a
139:The examples and perspective in this article
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50:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
177:Learn how and when to remove this message
114:Learn how and when to remove this message
211:. Some providers of local services were
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48:adding citations to reliable sources
333:Competitive Local Exchange Carrier
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301:, most phone calls were made via
271:terminate at the central office (
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229:local telephone companies
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223:Many communities in the
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250:Private Branch Exchange
190:Local telephone service
328:Local exchange carrier
192:is the provision of
159:create a new article
151:improve this article
44:improve this article
386:Telephone services
371:FCC Carrier Search
359:Telephone exchange
273:telephone exchange
290:three-way calling
241:rotary telephones
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354:Telephone
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282:Caller ID
155:talk page
31:does not
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