Telecom For Dummies

The term LEC (pronounced lek) stands for local exchange carrier. LECs are local phone carriers, such as Verizon, Bell South, Qwest, or Southern Bell Company (SBC). If you are speaking to your long-distance carrier, you can refer to the company that provides dial tone and phone numbers for you as a LEC.

 Tip  When you call your long-distance carrier to chat about a new phone line that needs long-distance service, simply say, “I just got a new phone number from my LEC that you need to set up on your network.”