local exchange network
local-exchange network. Telecommunications law. A system for providing telephone service on a local basis. • A local-exchange network usu. consists of such elements as switches, local loops, and transport trunks, and capabilities such as billing databases and operator services. Switches are pieces of equipment that direct calls to the appropriate destination. Local loops are the wires that connect telephones to the switches. Transport trunks are the wires that carry calls from switch to switch. All the elements of a local-exchange network are often referred to as a bundle, and there are federal requirements that a local-exchange carrier who controls a local-exchange network permit competition by selling some access, including unbundled access, to its local-exchange network. 47 USCA § 251(c). See LOCAL-EXCHANGE CARRIER; UNBUNDLING RULES. [Cases: Telecommunications 46, 267, 323. C.J.S. Telegraphs, Telephones, Radio, and Television §§ 31–32.]
