Media Kit - Industry Overview

NATIONAL

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulated local telephone service throughout the U.S. Opportunities in the exchange market for Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) then became similar to the conditions present in the long distance marketplace in the early ’80s. The rapid acceleration of computer processing speeds, wireless technology and expanding bandwidth is creating whole new consumer segments, such as Movies on Demand, High-Speed Internet Access and Internet telephone service. This nexus of unprecedented choice and complexity has given rise to a generation of telecommunications consultants specializing in flexible, scalable enterprise-wide telecommunications planning.

According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (http://www.ntia.doc.gov), telecommunications and information-related industries account for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. economy. The rapid growth and importance of the telecommunications and information industries will continue for at least the next decade, domestically and internationally. In fact, 33 percent of GPD growth in the past year traces back to information-tech industries. Currently, consumers and businesses spend about $282 billion on info-technology alone.

FLORIDA

Currently, there are ten incumbent local exchange carriers licensed to operate in Florida. Of the ten, nine are price-regulated and one is rate-of-return regulated, according to the Florida Public Service Commission (http://www.psc.state.fl.us). With price regulations, the law limits upward movement of rates by setting the maximum allowable price that may be charged for services. Price regulation provides companies with greater pricing flexibility. With rate of return regulation, rates are set to achieve a pre-approved revenue level. This process constrains the company's ability to act, or react, quickly to competitive changes. The 1996 Telecommunications Act allowed Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) to penetrate the local telecommunications market. This legislation offers many new competitive local service providers the chance to compete against Florida’s Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), listed below:

• ALLTEL Florida, Inc.
• BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.
• Frontier Communications of the South, Inc.
• GTC, Inc. d/b/a GT Com
• ITS Telecommunications Systems, Inc.
• Northeast Florida Telephone Company d/b/a NEFCOM
• Smart City Telecommunications LLC d/b/a Smart City Telecom
• Quincy Telephone Company d/b/a TDS Telecom/Quincy Telephone
• Sprint-Florida, Incorporated
• Verizon Florida Inc.

There are currently 429 CLECs in Florida.