All Topics  
Telephone company

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Telephone company
 
 
  Topics Telephone company Topic Home

A telephone company (or telco) provides telecommunications services such as telephony
Telephony

In telecommunication, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide voice communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
 and data communications. Most of the largest telcos, whatever their origins, are or were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies
Monopoly

In economics, a monopoly exists when a specific individual or enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it....
. These monopolies are often referred to, primarily in Europe, as PTT
Postal Telegraph and Telephone

A postal, telegraph, and telephone service is or was a government government agency responsible for mail, telegraph, and telephone services. Such monopoly existed in many countries, though not in North America or Japan....
s.

Telcos are also known as common carrier
Common carrier

A common carrier is a business that transports people, goods, or services and offers its services to the general public under license or authority provided by a regulatory body....
s, and in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 as local exchange carrier
Local exchange carrier

Local Exchange Carrier is a regulatory term in telecommunications for the local telephone company.In the United States, telephone companies are divided into two large categories: long distance and local ....
s. With the advent of cellular telephony, telcos now include wireless carriers, or network operators.

Most telcos now also function as ISP
Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
s, and the distinction between telco and ISP may disappear completely over time, as the current trend for supplier convergence
Supplier Convergence

Supplier convergence is a term used to describe the ongoing trend of companies offering a combination of services or products that were previously supplied by separate companies....
 in the industry continues.

he American comedy program Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night 90-minute American sketch comedy/variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975....
, guest host comedian
Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laughter. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy....
 Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin

Mary Jean ?Lily? Tomlin is an United States actor, comedian, writer and Theatrical producer. During her 40-year career she has also been nominated for an Academy Award, and has won multiple awards from many quarters, including Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award....
 once satirized the telephone industry (and the country's then-dominant Bell System
Bell System

The Bell System refers to popular names used to described a group of companies that operated initial telephone services in the US. In 1877, the American Bell Telephone Company, named after Alexander Graham Bell, opened the first telephone exchange in New Haven, CT....
 in particular) with a skit
Skit

Skit may refer to:*Sketch comedy*Hip hop skit*Puppet skitSee also *Skete...
 in which she played one of her trademark characters, telephone operator
Telephone operator

A telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain List of country calling codess which cannot...
 Ernestine.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Telephone company'
Start a new discussion about 'Telephone company'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A telephone company (or telco) provides telecommunications services such as telephony
Telephony

In telecommunication, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide voice communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
 and data communications. Most of the largest telcos, whatever their origins, are or were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies
Monopoly

In economics, a monopoly exists when a specific individual or enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it....
. These monopolies are often referred to, primarily in Europe, as PTT
Postal Telegraph and Telephone

A postal, telegraph, and telephone service is or was a government government agency responsible for mail, telegraph, and telephone services. Such monopoly existed in many countries, though not in North America or Japan....
s.

Telcos are also known as common carrier
Common carrier

A common carrier is a business that transports people, goods, or services and offers its services to the general public under license or authority provided by a regulatory body....
s, and in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 as local exchange carrier
Local exchange carrier

Local Exchange Carrier is a regulatory term in telecommunications for the local telephone company.In the United States, telephone companies are divided into two large categories: long distance and local ....
s. With the advent of cellular telephony, telcos now include wireless carriers, or network operators.

Most telcos now also function as ISP
Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
s, and the distinction between telco and ISP may disappear completely over time, as the current trend for supplier convergence
Supplier Convergence

Supplier convergence is a term used to describe the ongoing trend of companies offering a combination of services or products that were previously supplied by separate companies....
 in the industry continues.

Trivia

On the American comedy program Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night 90-minute American sketch comedy/variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975....
, guest host comedian
Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laughter. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy....
 Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin

Mary Jean ?Lily? Tomlin is an United States actor, comedian, writer and Theatrical producer. During her 40-year career she has also been nominated for an Academy Award, and has won multiple awards from many quarters, including Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award....
 once satirized the telephone industry (and the country's then-dominant Bell System
Bell System

The Bell System refers to popular names used to described a group of companies that operated initial telephone services in the US. In 1877, the American Bell Telephone Company, named after Alexander Graham Bell, opened the first telephone exchange in New Haven, CT....
 in particular) with a skit
Skit

Skit may refer to:*Sketch comedy*Hip hop skit*Puppet skitSee also *Skete...
 in which she played one of her trademark characters, telephone operator
Telephone operator

A telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain List of country calling codess which cannot...
 Ernestine. In the skit, she disconnects the phone service for a large area, and utters the now-famous quote:

"We don't care.
We don't have to.
We're the phone company."


In the satirical 1967 film The President's Analyst
The President's Analyst

The President's Analyst is a 1967 in film satire comedy film written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, starring James Coburn. The widescreen cinematography was by William A....
, "TPC, The Phone Company," is depicted as plotting to enslave humanity by replacing landline
Landline

A landline, main line or fixed-line is a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre. This is distinguished from a mobile phone, where the medium used is the radio waves....
s with cell phones.

See also


  • Alexander Graham Bell honors and tributes
    Alexander Graham Bell honors and tributes

    Alexander Graham Bell honors and tributes include honors bestowed upon him or awards named for him. Alexander Graham Bell received numerous honors and tributes during his life, and new awards were subsequently named for him posthumously....
  • The Phone Company
    The Phone Company

    The Phone Company is a volunteer network providing a free email-to-fax service.It is the only grandfathered user of the .int domain. It takes its name from the similarly named organisation in the film The President's Analyst....
  • PSTN
  • VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
  • ITSP Internet Telephony Service Provider
  • CLEC
  • ILEC
  • RBOC
  • List of telephone operating companies
    List of telephone operating companies

    Countries by alphabetical order...
  • List of mobile network operators
    List of mobile network operators

    This is a list of mobile phone mobile phone network operating companies.For a more comprehensive list , see Mobile Network Code....
  • Mobile network operator
    Mobile network operator

    A mobile network operator , also known as carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, mobile phone operator, or cellular company, is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers....